Amor et Bellum: The Fight's Begun
by Nemesis91
Summary: Sam and Dean stop in Belleville, NJ and end up with a job but didn't expect to fall in love. The 1st chapter is after Skin and before Hookman, the rest will be the episodes but different. R&R. *Paused because too many other stories are in my head : *
1. Boyfriend

**Authors Note: I wrote this mainly with my best friend so thanks to her for helping me out. Hope you people enjoy this!**

OoOoOoO

Adriel walked into her bathroom, tired and just wanting to go to sleep. She walked to the sink and turned on the hot tap, waiting until the water was warm, then splashed a little on her face. She wiped her face with a hand towel and stood up, sighing. She looked in the mirror and froze. A teenage boy about her height with short spiky pink hair and pale blue eyes stood about three metres behind her, his face mainly hidden in shadow.

"Seth?" she asked nervously.

She spun around and found the bathroom empty. Turning back around, she saw him in the mirror again, standing right behind her, the greenish lines of veins standing out against his pale skin.

"You took her," he growled in a voice that was two voices and one at the same time. "You took her from me." He glared at her in the mirror and Adriel choked, falling to the ground, writhing in pain.

She couldn't see Seth, but his reflection was still in the mirror, glaring down at her as she died. When any movement in her body stopped, he looked at himself in the mirror and hissed, "One down."

OoOoOoO

Dean Winchester sat in the diner in a booth near the window. Light trickled through the leaves of the tree outside, mottling the table and the newspaper he was reading. His younger brother, Sam, sat down on the other side of the table, folding his hands on the table.

"A while ago after we solved the Bloody Mary case, I… uh, I saw…" Sam started to trail off, but was interrupted by Dean.

"Adriel Van Ameyde."

"What?" Sam asked, confused by the interruption.

Dean turned the paper around so Sam could read it and pointed to one of the obituaries. "Adriel Van Ameyde, seventeen, died in her own home last week. Unknown cause of death. Very sudden."

"The funeral's tomorrow," Sam noted, eyes flicking over the short piece of writing.

"So, we have to go to the morgue today and find out how she died," Dean said, leaning back in his seat and tapping out the tune of Back in Black by AC/DC on the table.

Sam looked up at him. "Are you sure? I mean it could just be natural. Maybe she killed herself and no one stated how she died in the obituaries."

"No, it's specifically says, 'Cause of death, unknown.' We are going to check that body out." Dean stood up, chucking a twenty dollar note onto the table.

Sam sighed, rolling up the newspaper and following his brother.

OoOoOoO

Dean led the way into the morgue office, Sam right behind him, and stood in front of the doctor's desk.

"Hi, we're from the Natural History Museum and we're here to see the specimen, Adriel Van Ameyde," Dean said, flashing a smile.

The doctor, a large woman of about thirty with short, styled brown hair and thick-rimmed glasses, blushed and smiled. "Of course," she said, standing up and leading them into the cold room.

Sam and Dean shot each other a look and swallowed giggles. They couldn't believe she fell for that.

The doctor, a Dr. Cohen, opened a metal tomb and pulled out the tray on which the body was stored. She pulled off the plastic, revealing a rather pretty young girl with dyed black hair and a nose piercing.

"So, um, what was the cause of death?" Sam asked curiously.

"Well, her insides liquefied and then reset, so she's gelatinous on the inside," Dr, Cohen said, shrugging.

"What causes that?" Sam asked as Dean reached forwards and poked Adriel's shoulder, making the entire body wobble.

"Well, in this case, we don't know. We've only seen one case like it before, and that was… different." Dr. Cohen sighed, looking a little sad.

"What happened in that other case?" Dean asked, a little freaked out by the wobbling body.

"My brother's son, Seth Cohen, committed suicide mid last year by overdosing on a cocktail of different drugs, the effect of which liquefied him. He died very painfully and no one knows why he did it."

"Could we have that file?" Dean asked, again flashing the smile.

Dr. Cohen nodded and put Adriel away, leading them, towards a filing cabinet. She opened a drawer and took out a manila folder and handing it to Dean. "Come back anytime," she said hopefully as they thanked her and left.

OoOoOoO

Janaya stared blankly at the black coffin. She felt an arm around her shoulder and looked to her best friend Norah.

"Maybe Seth did it," Norah suggested casually. "After what we did last week, then she died the same way. It's possible."

"No, it's not," Janaya said, leaning against Norah's shoulder. "Anyway, Seth wouldn't do that."

Norah just sighed. "Ooh, sexy."

Janaya looked at her. "What? Who?"

Norah indicated two young men who were walking towards them, across the grass.

"It's Adriel's funeral, show some… Wow, they _are_ sexy." Janaya frowned. "I don't trust them."

"Why not? They are sexy." Norah looked confused.

"Exactly. Never trust sexy men." Janaya frowned as the two men approached them.

"Hi, I'm Sam and this is Dean, we're Adriel's friends," the slightly taller man said, indicating himself and the other guy.

"No, you're not," Janaya said accusingly. "Adriel hates guys." Janaya shot Norah a look and Norah just shrugged.

"Oh, uh, well," Sam said, suddenly unsure.

"Who, the fuck, are you?" Janaya asked defensively.

"Sam and Dean," Dean said. "We're investigating your friend's death; we think it may be of supernatural cause."

"What ever gave you that idea?" Janaya glanced at Norah. "Crazy fool."

"Seth did it!" Norah said before Janaya smacked her on the shoulder.

"No, he didn't, he's dead," Janaya said firmly.

"That doesn't stop him from killing people," Dean noted.

"Seth wouldn't kill people!" Janaya said, now irritated. "He was a nice guy. He wouldn't hurt anyone." She spun around on her heel and walked away angrily.

"Um, what's her problem?" Dean asked, watching her go.

"Seth was her boyfriend," Norah explained. "When we started hanging out with Adriel, we sort of forgot about him. Janaya found him in the locker room. Last week, we had a séance in the locker room, because it was his birthday, also the anniversary of his death, and Adriel took her hands off too soon."

Sam and Dean looked at each other, raising their eyebrows.

"Why do you think it could be Seth?" Dean asked, looking over his shoulder, watching Janaya enter the house.

"Because, Adriel died the same way he did, and we don't think he managed to go back to wherever it was he came from. Adriel couldn't finish it so it sort of…stopped"

"So, Seth is trapped in this world?" Sam asked.

Norah shrugged. "Probably."

"Can we speak to you again? Some other time?" Sam asked, looking a little nervous. Dean shot him a look, but he ignored it.

"Okay," Norah said, nodding. "Here's my cell number." She handed him and piece of paper and left, following the same path Janaya had.

OoOoOoO

Nicole grinned as her boyfriend, Ethan, kissed her neck. She glanced in the window of the car and froze.

"Seth?" she asked, terrified.

"Who's Seth?" Ethan asked, pulling away to look at her.

"No one," she said, shaking her head.

"No one, my ass," Ethan said, his eyes suddenly glowing blue and his voice turning into an inhuman growl. "You took her from me!"

Nicole screamed and writhed in pain as her insides started to liquefy. Ethan blinked, scrambling out of the car and running away as fast as he could.

Before she died, Nicole caught sight of Seth's reflection in the window, watching her.

Norah hung up the phone and turned around, frowning at Janaya, who lay on her bed. "Nicole's dead. Died the same way as Adriel."

Janaya looked at her. "What's your point?"

Norah stared past and her and Janaya frowned, turning around and looked into the mirror behind her. In the reflection, Seth stood between them, looking straight at Janaya.

"I'm coming for you," he whispered. He walked towards the stereo and turned it on, playing Like You by Evanescence. Janaya looked at the stereo, not in the reflection, and watched the volume dial turn up by itself. She looked back at the reflection and Seth was turning it up. He disappeared, then Norah ran over to the stereo and turned it off.

"I believe you," Janaya said quickly.

There was a small silence, then Norah's cellphone started ringing. She looked at Janaya, then picked it up, flicking it open and answering it.

"Hi, Norah, it's Sam here," Sam said, voices in the background like he was at a pay phone.

"Oh, thank god," Norah said, letting her breath go. "Seth was here, we saw him in the mirror. He told Janaya he was coming for her."

"Okay, we'll be right over," he said quickly then hung up.

Norah shut her phone and sat down on the bed next to Janaya. "Sam and Dean are coming over."

Janaya sighed loudly. "_Why?_"

"Because they'll help stop Seth," Norah said. "I hope…"

OoOoOoO

Sam rang the doorbell of the house that he and Dean had just pulled up in front of. A middle-aged woman with dyed blonde hair and cold brown eyes opened the door.

"Hello, are Norah and Janaya home?" he asked politely. The woman glared at him.

"No," she said and slammed the door. Sam stared at the door confused. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Dean pointing at something. Sam followed Dean's finger and saw Norah and Janaya in the window of the house next door to the one they were at.

"Oh," he said stupidly.

Dean led the way next door and knocked on the door politely. There was silence, then running footsteps.

The door opened and Norah and Janaya stood there, looking a little breathless.

"Quickly," Norah said, ushering them in.

They tiptoed up the stairs and walked silently down the hall to Janaya's room. Once, safely inside, Dean looked around the pretty normal looking room and saw they'd thrown a blanket over the mirror.

"Why'd you throw a blanket over the mirror?" he asked, moving over to the mirror.

"Because we didn't want to see Seth if he came back," Norah explained. "He's gone all… creepy looking."

Dean reached forward and yanked the blanket off the mirror. A teenage boy stood next to Dean with short, spiky, pink hair, pale blue eyes and green veins all over his pale face. Norah screamed and Dean threw the blanket over the mirror again.

"I take it that was Seth," he said casually. "He seems… nice… I think we all need to get out of here."

Sam and Norah nodded but Janaya hesitated. "What about Seth's parents?"

"_Seth's_ parents?" Sam asked, confused.

"This is Seth's house and the people down stairs are his parents," Norah explained.

"Why do you live in his house?" Dean asked. "Isn't that just a little weird?"

Janaya rolled her eyes. "We're transfer students and we've been living here since we got to America. Did you not notice our lack of American accents? We're from New Zealand."

"Oh," Sam said, nodding. "It's really important that we get you out of here, especially if this is Seth's house because he knows where you are here."

Janaya finally nodded and stood up. "But what are we going to tell Mr. and Mrs. Cohen? That their dead son is trying to kill us and we need to run away? Why do I think they might have trouble believing that?"

"I'll handle it," Dean said, smiling comfortingly.

OoOoOoO

Norah and Janaya followed Sam and Dean down the stairs and into the living room where Seth's parents were sitting.

"Mr and Mrs Cohen?" Dean asked, interrupting whatever conversation they'd been having.

"Yes?" the woman said, standing up and looking at him confusedly. "How did you get into my house?"

"I believe these girls let us in. I'm afraid we'll have to take them into custody," he explained calmly.

"What?" Mr Cohen asked standing up too as the girls tried to stifle laughs behind Sam and Dean.

"We've discovered that they are illegal immigrants and it will take a week or so to get them legalised again," Sam said, easily picking up his brother's lie. "But don't worry, we'll handle it."

Dean turned around to face Janaya and Norah who stopped giggling immediately. "You can pack anything you may need," he said. "Detective Greene here will accompany you."

Janaya and Norah nodded and ran upstairs, Sam following them, leaving Dean to deal with Mr and Mrs Cohen.

Dean took out an FBI badge from his pocket. "I'm Detective Mauve from the FBI. I'm sorry if this inconvenienced you, but it's very important."

"Why?" Mr Cohen asked.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that with you," Dean said, following Sam and the girls out the front door.

"Do all FBI agents drive Chevrolets?" Mr Cohen asked his wife as the car drove away.

OoOoOoO

Janaya and Norah sat in the back seat of Dean's Chevy looking blankly out their windows. Norah heard a familiar tune and turned to face Janaya.

"Are you humming Metallica?" she asked. Janaya looked at Norah and nodded.

"It calms me down," she explained.

"Really?" Dean asked interestedly from the driver's seat.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Janaya asked defensively.

Dean shook his head. "No, I think that's fantastic."

"Oh." Janaya resumed staring out her window and humming but now she was smiling.

OoOoOoO

They pulled up outside a cheap motel and Janaya shook her head.

"No," she said firmly. "I'm not staying in there."

"Why not?" Dean asked, confused. "What's wrong with it?"

"I'm spoilt and have grown accustomed to luxury. Drive south for about twenty minutes," she ordered. "Please," she added.

Sighing, Dean did as he was told and, twenty minutes later, they pulled up in front of an expensive looking hotel.

"We can't afford to stay here, Janaya," Dean pointed out. "Ghost hunting isn't exactly a highly paying job."

Janaya rolled her eyes. "You can't but I can. Norah too. We'll pay."

Dean looked to Sam who shrugged. "Deal."

OoOoOoO

"What?" all four of them asked in unison.

"I'm sorry, there are only two rooms left, both with double beds and en suite bathrooms, but who ever pays for the room will have to sleep in it, security says," the receptionist said apologetically.

Norah and Janaya looked at each other. "Fine," Janaya said, shrugging.

"Huh?" Dean asked, surprised.

"It'll probably be safer," Janaya continued. "And apparently, we have no choice."

"Okay," Norah said, putting her credit card on the desk, Janaya doing so, also.

"How are we going to sort this out?" Sam asked as the receptionist put the payment through.

"How about you two pick a room each and we'll see how that works out?" Janaya suggested.

"Okay," Dean said, nodding.

Norah picked up the keys and held them in her hands, the numbers covered. "Pick a hand."

"Left," Dean said quickly.

Norah handed him the key on his left and handed Sam the key on the right.

"Okay," she said, picking up the receipt. "Janaya has room Nine Five Three and I have room Nine Five One."

"Room buddies!" Dean said to Janaya, dangling the keys to room 953 in his hand. "Will we be bed buddies, too?"

Janaya just rolled her eyes, took her credit card off the desk and walked away. Dean followed her eagerly, grinning.

Sam sighed, rolling his eyes. "Dean is such a man-whore."

Norah laughed. "I've never heard a straight man say that before."

"Are you insinuating that I'm gay?" Sam asked, laughing.

"No, I'm just stating, though you should probably prove you're not, or I might let you sleep in the bed."

"Oh, I, uh, um…" He trailed off, unsure.

"I'm kidding," Norah said, holding up her hands. "We should at least go to the room, away from this shiny, reflective floor, off of which Seth is staring at me and it's creepy."

Sam looked at the floor and jumped. Instead of his own reflection, it was Seth.

OoOoOoO

"I'm serious about the bed buddies thing you know," Dean was saying as he followed Janaya up stairs, away from Sam and Norah. "I mean, it's getting cold, we may have to snuggle."

Janaya turned to Dean and looked at him curiously.

"How long do you plan to stay in town for, Dean?" she asked, seemingly casually.

"Um." They had stopped walking and Dean looked confused. "The exact amount of time is hard to say but as long as it takes to fix your… problem."

Janaya nodded slightly then looked at him again. "How old are you?" she asked in that same casual tone.

Dean looked even more confused. "26."

"26," Janaya muttered, nodding. "And you're staying here 'till this whole thing is all fixed up?"

Dean nodded and Janaya's face turned dark.

"Then why the fuck are you doing this to me?" she asked angrily. "Do you think you're actually going to get me to jump into bed with you? My dead boyfriend is trying to kill me! You're 8 years older than me and you're leaving in, what, a week? Maybe two? So what is it exactly that you're doing? You just decided you wanted to fuck around with my emotions for a while? Do you have any idea what this whole situation is doing to me? What his death did to me? You disgusting, sleazy –"

"Dean!" came a frantic cry from half a floor below them. It was Sam and his voiced sounded strained and echoic.

"Sam!" Dean called, already running down the stairs, Janaya following closely behind him.

OoOoOoO

Sam looked confused for a moment and Norah stepped closer to him to see if he was okay but then flinched as he looked at her with inhumanly blue eyes.

"You took her from me," he said, his voice an inhuman growl.

"What?" Norah asked, stepping back slightly, but through her confusion she could tell that this was no longer Sam.

"You started the whole thing in the first place!" The voice was still a growl but now it held a hint of sorrow. "You pulled her to those 'popular' people, Norah. You did!"

Norah jumped but was tempted to step forward and comfort her friend in Sam's body.

"I didn't mean to, Seth," Norah said. "They just sort of invited us to hang out with them and we did. We never meant to leave you behind."

Sam/Seth's facial expression flickered slightly but remained angry. "It doesn't matter what you meant to do, it matters what you did do and you took her from me!"

Norah felt a slight heat tingle through her body and she looked at Sam/Seth, confused.

"You were my friend, Norah, I shouldn't have to kill you but you brought it on yourself."

Norah's eyes widened then she screamed and fell to the floor in pain.

"No!" Janaya cried, jumping the final few stairs and running over to where Norah writhed on the ground. Janaya looked at the reflection on the ground with tears in her eyes. "Please, leave her out of this, Seth," she begged and, reluctantly, Seth left, leaving the four in the middle of the lobby. Norah was still on the floor but she stopped screaming and writhing and now looked very ill.

"Norah, are you okay?" Janaya asked softly.

Norah made no response except to try and get up, Sam running to her side to help her.

"Norah?" Janaya prompted, worried.

"I'm fine," she managed to croak.

Janaya turned to Sam. "Could you carry her up to your room?"

Sam nodded, lifted Norah easily to his arms and started walking up stairs, Dean and Janaya following silently behind him.

OoOoOoO

Janaya sat with the blankets up to her hips and looked around the room, trying to sense any danger. There was only one light on in the room and it cast eerie shadows in the room. She jumped when the shower stopped and Dean walked out of the bathroom 5 minutes later wearing only a pair of low cut jeans. He looked at Janaya in the bed then glanced at the floor.

"I'll sleep over by the door, I can guard it tha –"

"Dean?" Janaya interrupted shakily. "Can you sleep in the bed please? I…uh…I'm getting a little freaked out by all this."

Dean looked surprised but nodded and hesitantly climbed into the bed.

"Janaya, I'm sorry for coming off all… sleazy," Dean said softly. "That's just my way of dealing with this. Part of me knew you wouldn't like it so I did it to drive you away. I generally don't let people get close to me because, you know, of all the moving around."

Janaya nodded. "Nor do I."

Dean raised his eyebrows at her.

"Before Norah and I started hanging out with Adriel and stuff, Seth and I made a deal that on his birthday, he would be my first," Janaya started explaining. Dean looked confused but Janaya gave him a look that quickly explained her meaning and Dean nodded at her encouragingly.

"Then we started hanging out with them and sort of forgot about him. We hadn't, but that's how it must have seemed to him. We sort of grew apart, him and me, but we never broke up and I never forgot the deal we'd made. His birthday rolled around and I waited after school where we had agreed we would. When he didn't turn up, I went looking for him and one of his friends told me he was in the locker room so I went in and I found him dead." Janaya stopped suddenly and Dean realised she was crying. He reached up and wiped a tear from her face and she continued with her story.

"I cried so hard when I found him and it took six police officers to get me away from him. The M.E. said that it had been a cocktail of drugs that had done it to him and I cried harder. Seth was a complete science nerd, he knew exactly what that mix would have done to him and yet he did it anyway, I couldn't understand and then I realised it was my fault for leaving him. Now I keep people at arms length so I can't hurt people anymore and they can't hurt me. I moved on eventually but some small part of me will always love him and –" Janaya was immediately cut off by Dean kissing her suddenly.

Janaya stopped in surprise, she hadn't realised he'd gotten that close, and refused to let herself kiss him back, instead she waited until he pulled away.

"I thought I already yelled at you about this," Janaya said quietly, looking at him closely.

Dean nodded. "But as you just said, you don't let people get close so that's why you were yelling."

Janaya thought about that for a moment and realised he was right. She looked at him for a long moment then leaned and kissed him. He kissed her back immediately and they stayed that way for a while then the kiss deepened. Janaya felt Dean's hand on her shoulder and he pushed the strap of her singlet top off her shoulder. She pulled back and smiled at him.

"Good night, Dean," she said, pulling the strap back onto her shoulder, rolling over and going to sleep.

Dean sighed slightly, lay down and went to sleep too.

OoOoOoO

Norah walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel and saw Sam walk into the bedroom with a tray of food.

"You're looking better," he observed, setting the tray on the bed.

"I feel it," Norah agreed. She looked at the tray of food and smiled. "What's this?"

Sam shrugged. "I just thought you might feel better if you had some food so I went down to get some."

Norah laughed. "As much as I appreciate that, there is a little thing called room service."

Sam looked sheepish. "Well, I'm not used to expensive hotels; I'm used to scungy motels."

Norah nodded and sat down on the bed and picked up a slice of jammed bread. "Are you going to join me or am I gonna have to eat all this by myself?"

Sam smiled and sat down next to her, picking a grape and popping it into his mouth.

"So where was Seth buried?" Sam asked as Norah bit into her toast.

Norah looked confused. "What?" she asked when she had swallowed her mouthful.

"Seth's grave? Where is it? All we have to do is burn his bones and he should go away," Sam explained, picking another grape.

Norah shook her head. "Seth was cremated, you'll have a hard time burning his bones."

Sam looked at her forlornly, the grape frozen half way to his mouth.

"Crap."

OoOoOoO

"Don't you think it's weird that we haven't seen Seth in a few days?" Norah asked as she stuffed a spoonful of cornflakes into her mouth. Janaya nodded and Sam and Dean shrugged.

"Maybe because you asked him to leave you alone he's decided to do just that?" Dean suggested.

Janaya shook her head. "It can't be that. I asked him to leave _Norah_ alone which means he should still be coming for me," she said matter-of-factly.

"Doesn't that scare you?" Norah asked, looking at her friend closely.

"It terrifies me. Just because I'm not afraid of death doesn't mean I'm not afraid to die painfully. But there's nothing I neither can nor will do about it so I might as well accept the fact that it's going to happen."

Norah dropped her spoon and looked at Janaya, shocked.

"What?" she and Dean said in unison.

"What do you mean there's nothing you'll do about it? Do you _want_ him to kill you?" Dean asked, sitting down next to her and looking her right it the eyes.

"Of course I don't want him to kill me but he has the right. It's my fault he died and if he wants to punish me for that then so be it."

"No," Dean said firmly and Janaya looked at him, surprised. "I won't let him kill you, Janaya. I won't let him."

Janaya smiled sadly at him and kissed him lightly. Then she got up and went back to the room.

Dean pounded his fist on the table and Norah and Sam jumped.

"She's insane!" he muttered angrily.

"Look, I don't want her to die either, but what are _we_ going to do about it?" Norah pointed out.

"It wasn't her fault. He died because he was selfish not because she left him. Why won't she see that? And why would he punish her if he loved her so much?"

Norah shook her head. "He's not going to kill her to punish her. He killed the others for that and he tried to kill me because of it. No, he's going to kill her so that they can be together forever."

Dean's jaw grew taut and he stood up. "I'm not going to let that happen."

OoOoOoO

Dean opened the door to the hotel room slowly, then, when there were no objections, he entered and closed the door behind him. Janaya was sitting on the end of the bed, staring into space. Dean sat down next to her and she turned slowly to face him.

"Don't let him kill you, Jay," Dean pleaded quietly. He touched her face gently with a knuckle as she smiled at him.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I must have sounded incredibly suicidal back there." She took his hand and kissed his knuckles softly. "But if Seth comes to kill me and I make a decision, then I want you to promise me that you won't try and stop me."

Dean looked as if he was about to refuse.

"Please, Dean. Promise me?" Janaya pleaded.

Dean sighed and nodded. "Fine, I promise."

Janaya smiled and kissed him. "Thank you," she whispered into his mouth and kissed him harder.

Dean pulled away slowly. "Hey, how 'bout I take you out to dinner tonight? I can't take you anywhere fancy coz I'm broke but it's the thought that counts right?" Dean suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

Janaya laughed. "Yeah, it's the thought that counts."

OoOoOoO

Dean's Chevy was the only car in the parking lot that night and Janaya followed Dean towards it, smiling. She ran her hand lightly over the hood of the car. "I've always wanted a car like this," she confessed, looking at it admiringly. "Ever since I was little." She leant back on the hood and looked at Dean who grinned and moved closer to her, putting his hands on her hips and kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. After a while, Janaya shivered a little and Dean pulled away.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Janaya nodded and shivered again. "I'm just a little cold."

Dean nodded and took off his jacket. He handed it to her then opened the back door of the Chevy, gesturing for her to climb inside. Janaya laughed slightly then did as she was told. She sat down already feeling warmer because of Dean's jacket. Dean sat beside her and smiled at her. She smiled back and kissed him. She suddenly found herself lying on her back in the backseat with Dean leaning over her, kissing her. She wriggled under him a little bit to get more comfortable and she felt Dean grin into her mouth. She felt his hand slide up her leg and under her skirt and realised that she could lose her virginity in the back seat of a car.

Get over it, she told herself. It's not where, it's to whom and you have Dean. That should be enough.

She smiled to herself and closed her eyes.

"Weren't we going somewhere?" she asked.

"Probably but I can't remember where." Dean trailed kisses away from her mouth, over her chin and stopped at her neck. She opened her eyes and saw Seth's reflection in the rear view mirror. He appeared to be sitting in the driver's seat and he had a dark look on his face.

"Seth," Janaya said cautiously. Dean stopped suddenly and looked up at her, confused.

"Dean, we have to get out of the car," Janaya said quickly. "Now."

"What?" he asked, still confused.

"Dean! Move!" Janaya said frantically. Dean scrambled out of the car, Janaya following close behind. They had barely made it out of the car when all the windows shattered and glass flew into the car at rapid speeds.

"Not my car!" Dean whined. "Anything but my car!"

Janaya grabbed Dean's arm. "Can we go back inside now?"

Dean nodded and quickly led her back inside the hotel.

OoOoOoO

"We saw Seth," Dean announced when they saw Norah and Sam.

"What? Where?" they asked in unison.

"In my car," Dean explained. "He… he broke the windows and mirrors." Dean looked forlornly out the window and to the car park. He blinked and Seth's face appeared the window.

"You're taking her from me," he growled and Dean jumped back.

"And here, right now."

Sam and Norah jumped and looked at the window. Seth glared at Dean then glanced at Sam and grinned maliciously. He disappeared from the window.

"You're taking her from me," Seth said again only this time he was in Sam's body. Sam/Seth glared at Dean and Dean felt a hot, tingly sensation go through his body.

"No," Janaya said firmly and Sam/Seth looked at her, surprised. "If you kill him, I will never forgive you."

Sam/Seth looked pained then reluctantly moved away from Dean and the tingly feeling went away.

"You have no reason to kill him," she said, not convinced that he had completely left it alone.

"He's taking you from me. You were with him. You forgot about me."

Janaya shook her head. "No. If you're going to kill anyone here, you're going to kill me."

"No!" Dean cried.

"You stay out of this," Janaya and Sam/Seth said at the same time. "I'm the one who should be punished Seth so get it over with."

"Punished?" Sam/Seth growled questioningly. "I don't want to punish you. I want you to stay with me."

Janaya's eyes widened. "You what?"

Sam/Seth moved closer to Janaya and held his hand to her cheek. "I've missed you. I want you back. And this way, no one can ever take you from me again." He shot a look at Dean who held his hands out submissively and took a step back.

Janaya closed her eyes and caused a tear to roll down her face. "I've missed you too," she whispered, leaning into his hand slightly.

"So you'll come with me then?" The voice was no longer an inhuman growl, but Seth's true voice. "You'll come back with me?"

Janaya opened her eyes and looked at Seth for a long time. "No," she said finally, I determined look on her face.

"What?" Sam/Seth looked hurt and confused. "But you said –"

"Yes, I've missed you Seth but I have people here who love me and who I love. I want to stay with them. With Norah and Sam and Dean."

Sam/Seth took his hand from her face and glared at her. She felt a tingly kind of heat and she glared back at Sam/Seth.

"No, Seth!" she growled angrily. "If you loved me as much as you think you do then you would let me do what I want to do!"

The tingling stopped suddenly and Sam/Seth looked sad.

"You're right," he whispered. "I'm sorry." He leant down and kissed Janaya softly. Janaya closed her eyes and noticed that it was exactly the way Seth used to kiss her. Suddenly, the kiss changed and she pulled away. Sam was himself again and he looked at her awkwardly. Janaya looked around and saw Seth's spirit hovering close by.

She reached out and held her hand close to his cheek. She knew that although he looked solid, her fingers would slip right through him.

"I'm sorry, Jay," he said before disappearing. She let herself cry loudly and fall to the floor. Dean went to her side and helped her up, whispering soothing things into her hair. Suddenly she stood up straight and smiled. She felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she turned to the rest of the group, wiping her tears away.

"It's over."

OoOoOoO

Janaya and Norah loaded their bags into the Chevy and closed the trunk. Dean tapped on the new windows and smiled.

"Thanks for paying to get these fixed, but are you guys sure you want to come with us?" Dean asked.

Janaya nodded. "You made me fall for you, Dean, you're stuck with me."

Dean laughed and kissed her. Sam came up behind Norah and slid his arms around her waist, hugging her close to him. Janaya frowned slightly, she must have missed something.

"But, do you guys have any experience in hunting… evil?" he asked.

Janaya laughed. "Who needs experience when you're a sorceress's daughter?"

Sam and Dean looked her with wide eyes.

"You're what?"

"A sorceress's daughter. How do you think we managed a séance? You need actual magical skill to be able to pull one off. Sure, everyone has some magic in them but Adriel and the others didn't believe in what we were doing so I had to use my own power. Norah too."

Sam and Dean then turned to Norah with the same expressions on their faces.

"I'm not Palari's daughter but I've spent so much time with them that I apparently absorbed some of their power. Not much but enough to classify me as a witch," Norah explained.

"That and what mum gave you to handle your grief," Janaya added.

Norah nodded. And the boys' expressions grew apologetic.

"I'm sorry," Sam said, kissing the top of her head. "Who did you lose?"

"My parents," Norah said quietly and looked to Janaya for help.

"When we were 16," Janaya began," I was staying the night at Norah's house and we were in the sleep out. We were suddenly woken up by her parents screaming. We ran into the house and ran into their bedroom but couldn't find them. I saw blood dripping from the ceiling and we looked up. Her parents were somehow stuck to the ceiling, their abdomens cut open. Norah screamed and then fire started spreading from the ceiling. We ran out of the house as fast as we could and watched as the house burnt to the ground."

Sam and Dean exchanged a look that Norah and Janaya missed.

"I'm sorry," said Dean this time. He looked at the car and opened the driver's side door. He looked at Sam questioningly. "Where to next?"


	2. Hook Man

Lori Sorenson sat in the truck, her heart pounding with nervousness. Her boyfriend, Rich, leaned closer to her and kissed her. His hand slid under the strap of her top and she pulled away.

"Rich, don't," she said, pushing his hand away.

"It's okay," he said, kissing her again, his hand sliding back under the strap.

"I mean it," she said firmly, pulling away again.

There was a screech, like metal scratching against metal.

"What was that?" Lori asked, looking around frantically.

"I don't know," Rich said, also looking around.

Lori jumped and gasped as they heard the sound again, closer this time.

Rich frowned and moved to open his door. "What is that?"

Lori saw him leaving the car and tried to pull him back. "No, Rich, don't!" she pleaded as he stepped out of the car.

"Just wait here," he told her, shutting the car door.

Lori watched him walk away from the safety of the truck and felt her breathing coming heavier.

Rich looked around but couldn't see anything. He frowned. He turned back to the car and saw a line being scratched into the driver's side door, with the same metal on metal scratching sound. There was, however, no one making the scratch.

"What the hell?" he asked, frowning in confusion at the door.

"Rich, let's go!" Lori suggested firmly then screamed as the tyre of the truck blew out. She looked around frantically and could no longer see Rich.

"Rich?" she called, her voice high with fear. "Rich!" she leaned over to his side of the car, locked the doors and rolled up the windows.

She leaned back against her seat, breathing heavily and looking around. "Rich, where are you?"

There was a loud crash on the roof of the car and Lori screamed, diving under the dashboard of the car and curling up. The crashing stopped and, when she had stopped screaming, all that could be heard was a strange scratching on the roof of the car. A different kind to the one she and Rich had heard before.

Slowly, she got up and tried to reassure herself that everything was okay. She unlocked her door, climbed out of the car and ran away from the truck. She didn't know why, but something made her turn back to look at the truck. There was Rich hanging upside down from the bridge, his chest slashed and his blood dripping all over the roof of the car with his fingers scratching against it. Lori took one look and did all she could think to do. Scream.

OoOoOoO

Janaya opened her eyes and saw unfamiliar scenery. She blinked a bit to wake herself up then turned to Dean who was sitting in the drivers seat, nodding his head to whatever music he was listening to on Janaya's iPod. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to face her. He took out one of the head phones and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Where are we?" she asked sleepily.

"Iowa," he answered, putting the iPod to sleep and handing it to Janaya. She took it.

"Why didn't you listen to your music?" she asked, not having yet registered his answer.

Dean shrugged. "You were all asleep and I didn't want to wake you."

Janaya nodded then stopped. "Did you say Iowa?"

Dean nodded.

"How the hell do you decide where it is you go? From New Jersey to Iowa is a pretty random route, if you ask me." Janaya had sat up and was looking around her.

Dean shrugged. "I just felt like someone was on our tail so I took a few random turns and here we are," he explained casually, as if it were normal to be followed. "Hey do you want a coffee or something?" he asked, pulling over outside a café.

Janaya nodded absently and tried to sense whatever Dean thought was following them. It took her a while but eventually she found it. It wasn't threatening and she frowned.

"Who the –" she stopped suddenly and smiled. "Go away Mum, I'm fine." Janaya felt the presence reluctantly leave and rolled her eyes.

She glanced at the back of the car and saw Nora asleep, leaning against Sam who was also asleep and leaning against his safety belt. She picked up one of the cassette tapes and chucked it at them, causing them to jolt awake.

"Rise and shine, love birds, there's coffee to be had and father's to be found." With that, she followed Dean out of the car and to one of the outside tables of the café.

Nora moaned her annoyance at being woken up and reluctantly took off her safety belt and climbed out of the car, Sam following close behind.

"I hate you," Nora grumbled as she sat down next to Janaya, rubbing her eyes.

Janaya held her hand to her heart dramatically and looked pained. "How will I ever survive?" she asked, in a mock distressed kind of way. Nora stuck her tongue out at her and stood up.

"I'll go order shall I?" she suggested. "What do we all want?"

Sam, Dean and Janaya, told Nora their orders and she skipped off towards the counter, Sam watching her go with a silly grin on his face. Janaya caught it and frowned, confused.

"What was it I missed between you two?" she asked, looking closely at Sam.

Sam shrugged. "I dunno. I guess, when we shared that room in that hotel, we did a lot of talking and understood each other," he explained. "We're both still suffering from a recent loss. The death of her parents may have been two years ago but it still hurts her, I can tell and I guess we just felt… drawn to each other because of it. Does that make sense?"

Janaya nodded and noticed that when he thought of Nora, a content expression came over his face and she smiled.

"Fair enough," she said, still nodding. "One thing though. If you break her heart, I will break you."

Sam just nodded, not sure whether or not Janaya was serious but when she smiled and Dean laughed, he relaxed a little.

"Here you go," Nora said, reappearing with their drinks.

"That was fast," Janaya said, grabbing hers and downing it quickly, despite the heat. Nora shrugged and slowly sipped hers as she sat down.

"Hey, Sam, weren't you going to call… whoever it was you were going to call… about Dad?" Dean asked, pulling out his laptop and typing something in.

Sam nodded and got up from the table. Nora and Janaya sat in silence as Dean worked at the laptop, his eyes concentrating on every piece of information on the screen. Five minutes later, Sam came back and sat down, looking slightly miffed.

"So, find anything?" Dean asked without looking up from his computer screen.

Sam shook his head. "I even checked the FBI missing person's database a while ago. No John Doe's fitting dad's description. I just ran his plates for traffic violations." Sam looked angry and worried and Nora reached out and grabbed his hand comfortingly, making him smile slightly.

"I'm telling you, Sam, I don't think Dad wants to be found," Dean said, looking at his younger brother.

"Then why bother?" Janaya asked, almost choking on her coffee for some reason. "If he doesn't want to be found, what's the point in looking? It's not like you're going to find him if he keeps covering his tracks."

Sam and Dean looked at each other and shrugged. "He's our father and we worry," Sam explained. "When you're in our line of work and you go missing, it's generally not a good thing."

Janaya nodded and went to drink the rest of her coffee only to find that she already had.

"Hey, check this out," Dean said, turning his laptop so that Sam could see it.

"The mutilated body was found by the victim's car, parked on Nine Mile Road," Sam read aloud.

"Keep reading," Dean prompted, finally taking a sip of his own coffee.

"Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer," Sam continued, "the soul eye-witness, who's name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was… invisible."

Dean looked at Sam. "Could be something interesting," he said, a hinting tone in his voice.

Sam nodded. "It also could be nothing at all," he reasoned. "One freaked out witness who didn't see anything, doesn't mean it's the invisible man."

"But what if it is?" Dean pointed out.

"We can at least check it out," Janaya chimed in, crushing her empty paper coffee cup, finally. "If it is nothing, then we keep on driving, if not we help. What's wrong with that?"

Dean gave Sam a look that said, 'she's right' and Sam nodded.

"Great," Dean said, closing his laptop and putting it back into his bag. "Let's go then."

OoOoOoO

Dean parked the Chevy on the side of the road, outside an old looking building.

"Why are we here?" Nora asked, looking disdainfully at the untidiness of the front yard.

"Victim lived here," Dean explained shortly. "You two wait here, we'll be right back."

Janaya was looking at the yard the same way Nora was then they looked at each other and rolled their eyes as if to say 'boys'.

Sam and Dean wandered over to where some boys were working on a car and saw someone roll out from underneath it.

"Nice wheels," Dean said, trying to make conversation. The boys just glared at him. Dean glanced at the building and realised it was a fraternity. "We're you're fraternity brothers from… Ohio. We're new in town, transfers, looking for a place to stay. Um, our girlfriends too."

One of the guys looked past Sam and Dean and into the Chevy. Eventually he nodded.

Dean went back to the car and opened one of the doors.

"Come on, we've got our in," he said, gesturing for them to get out of the car.

"What in? You mean a lie you tell in order to try and get information but which people see through right away?" Janaya asked, reminding him of the lie Sam had told her to get herself and Nora to trust them.

"No, I mean a lie we tell in order to try and get information that idiot fraternity brothers believe," Dean corrected, lowering his voice so that the fraternity brothers wouldn't hear him. "We're their fraternity brothers just transferred from Ohio."

Nora nodded, making sure she remembered it. "And what does that make us?" she asked.

Dean grinned. "The nymphomaniac girlfriends of course."

Janaya rolled her eyes and punched him but got out of the car anyway, quickly followed by Nora.

Sam, Dean, Nora and Janaya were lead up stairs and into a room where somebody was trying to paint themselves purple. Dean knocked on the door and the person turned around.

"Who are you?" he asked, seeing them all enter the room.

"We're you're new room mates," Dean explained, entering the room, the others following closely behind him.

The guy nodded. "Could you do me a favour and get my back?" he asked. "Big game today."

Dean looked at him then pointed to Sam. "He's the artist. Things he can do with a brush." Dean went to sit down and Sam glared at him. Nora hovered close to Sam and Janaya went to stand behind where Dean was sitting. Sam took the brush and purple paint bucket from the random and began to paint his back.

Dean picked up a book and turned it over, reading the name on the front. "So… Mark. Is it true?"

Mark turned around and looked at him questioningly. "What?"

Dean shrugged. "We heard one of the guys around here got killed last week."

Mark looked sombre. "Yeah," he said and turned back to the mirror.

"What happened?" Sam asked, still concentrating on painting Mark's back. Janaya bent down and kissed Dean lightly, right behind his ear, causing him to breathe in sharply and cross his legs.

"Don't do that," he hissed.

Janaya moved forward so she could whisper in his ear. "That was insensitive," she said then brought her lips to the side of his neck. Nora looked over at them then shook her head and looked away, moving closer to Sam.

Janaya gently kissed Deans neck and he let out a groan which he quickly turned into a cough.

"That's not fair," he whispered. He was right. They had agreed to take it slower and they wouldn't be getting much farther than that.

Janaya shrugged. "You wanted the nymphomaniac girlfriend," she reasoned but stood up and turned her attention to Mark.

"Rich was with somebody?" Sam had asked. Janaya and Dean had missed the beginning of the conversation.

"Not just somebody," Mark said, perking up. "Lori Sorenson." He glanced at Sam who shook his head to say that he hadn't heard of her.

"Who's Lori Sorenson?" Dean asked, feeling very 'to the point' today. "You missed a spot," he added to Sam pointing to somewhere on Mark's lower back. Sam glared harder so Nora took the brush and paint can off him and took his place.

"Lori's a freshman, a local," Mark continued, suddenly very aware of the pretty blonde girl behind him. "Super hot," he added as an after thought. He looked around at Nora and then at Janaya. "Although I may have to rethink that analysis after looking at these two," he pointed out. "Anyway, she's a reverends daughter."

Dean leant forward in his seat and smiled at Mark. "You wouldn't happen to know which church, would you?"

OoOoOoO

Nora and Janaya followed Sam and Dean into the church, Janaya a little reluctantly. They sat down in the back and sat silently, listening to the reverend's sermon.

"The loss of a young person is particularly tragic," the reverend was saying. "A life unlived is the saddest of passings."

A girl in the front row had turned around to look at them and took particular interest in Sam and smiled at him. Sam smiled back at her and Nora frowned.

"So please let us pray," The reverend continued, "for peace, for guidance and for the power to protect our children."

The whole church bowed their heads in prayer except Dean, who looked disinterested, and Janaya who looked awkward. Sam looked at them expectantly and they bowed their heads and said quick prayers that didn't really mean anything to them.

The four were first to leave the church and they hovered around the front entrance, waiting for Lori to come out.

"I can't it's a Sunday night," she was saying as she left the church, followed by a girl about her age, with dark skin and hair and a flirtatious air about her.

"It's just us girls!" her friend argued. "We're gonna do tequila shots and watch reality bites."

Lori looked reluctant. "My dad makes dinner every Sunday night," she said, obviously making excuses to not go out.

"Come on Lori," her friend pressed. "I know this has been hard for you but you are allowed to have fun."

Lori breathed deeply and nodded. "I'll try," she agreed, smiling reassuringly. Lori hugged her friend and waved good bye. She watched her friend walk away and Sam, Dean, Nora and Janaya walked up behind her.

"Are you Lori?" Sam asked, coming to a halt right behind her.

"Yeah," she said shyly, turning around to look at them all.

Sam smiled. "I'm Sam, This is my brother Dean and this is Nora and Janaya," he said, pointing to each of them in turn. "We just transferred here, to the university."

Lori nodded. "I saw you inside."

Nora frowned at Lori. _I know you did_ she thought angrily then calmed down. She didn't own Sam, what right did she have to stop people from talking to him? And she didn't blame Lori, Sam was very attractive. Just so long as she kept her damn hands to herself.

"We don't want to bother you," Sam continued. "We, just, heard about what happened."

Dean nodded. "We wanted to say how sorry we were," he said, trying to sound comforting.

Sam gestured to him and Nora. "We kinda know what you're going through. We saw people get hurt and… it's not something you forget."

Janaya was looking at something around Lori's neck. "That's a cool necklace, is it silver?" she asked.

Lori looked surprised and self-consciously touched her necklace. She nodded.

Janaya smiled. "Lucky you. I'm allergic to silver," Janaya admitted.

Dean laughed. "What are you, a werewolf?" he asked. Janaya turned around to face him and frowned. He stopped laughing immediately.

Janaya turned back to Lori and smiled sadly. "I lost my boyfriend, too. It was a while ago now but I know how you feel. It's hard, but you'll meet someone else and everything will be fine again."

Lori smiled slightly, grateful for the reassurance, then jumped as the reverend came to stand next to her. "Oh, uh, Dad, this is Sam, Dean, Nora and Janaya. They're new students."

Dean smiled at the reverend and extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you sir," Dean said, putting on his kiss up face. "I must say that was an inspiring sermon."

The reverend smiled and nodded. "Thank you very much," he said. "It's so nice to find young people who are open to the Lord's message."

Dean continued smiling then gestured for the reverend to follow him. He turned to Janaya and gestured for her to follow too.

"Uh, Reverend," Dean said, when he was sure he had taken the reverend out of ear shot of the others. "Janaya and I were thinking of getting married soon, but we, uh, have some… religious difficulties."

Janaya looked at him, trying to keep her face straight so the reverend wouldn't see she was glaring at Dean.

"Oh?" the reverend asked. "What kind of religious difficulties?"

Dean bowed his head and coughed slightly. "Sir, I am a devout Anglican but Janaya here is, uh…"

"Pagan," Janaya finished. Dean looked at her in surprise. He hadn't expected her to help lie to a priest, nor had he known she was a pagan. Maybe it's just part of the lie, he thought to himself.

"A pagan… right," the reverend said, turning to Janaya. "And do you wish to become an Anglican and marry, uh, Dean here?"

Janaya looked thoughtful. "I have no wish to change my religion, I'm fine where I am," she answered, not mentioning the part about marrying Dean. It was too early in their relationship to say she did want to marry him but if she said no it could cause problems, regardless of the fact that it was brought up by a lie.

The reverend shook his head disappointedly. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do if she won't let me," he said, turning to Dean, now ignoring her presence. "I can't force her to convert; you'd have to convince her yourself."

Dean looked disappointed too, and Janaya hoped it was an act. "Thank you for your help Reverend." He looked over to Sam, Nora and Lori and noticed that Lori was gone and Sam and Nora were talking about something. He smiled at the reverend who smiled back and walked away.

"We want to get married and we have religious issues?" Janaya asked, once she knew the reverend couldn't hear her. "What was that about?"

Dean shrugged. "It was the only thing I could think of," he explained, then looked at her closely. "Are you really a Pagan?"

Janaya nodded. "Have been since I was seven. Why? Is that a problem?" she asked, looking worried.

Dean shook his head quickly. "No! It's just, well; I thought most Pagan gods were, well, evil."

Janaya laughed. "That's a common misconception, some are, yes, but most are good, although it all depends on your sense of good and evil."

Dean nodded. "Yeah I guess that makes sense."

OoOoOoO

"I don't like her," Nora said, when Sam and Dean had gone to the other side of the library to find some information. "She keeps on flirting with Sam and I never know what to say about it. I'm too…" she trailed off.

"Passive aggressive?" Janaya put in, sitting down at one of the tables. "Relax, Nor. No one is stealing Sam away from you." She opened up a book and began flicking through it. Nora didn't seem convinced but she let it go.

"So, do you remember what Lori said about when Rich was killed?" Janaya asked, looking up at Nora.

Nora, who had been looking off somewhere in the distance, snapped back to reality. "What? Oh yeah. She said that Rich was suspended from the bridge, hanging up side down, over the car, I think he was scratching against the roof or something," she said, resuming staring off into space. Janaya stopped looking through her book and frowned. "Suspended upside down…" she muttered, racking her brain. "Where have I heard that before?"

Nora shrugged, she'd lost whatever zone she was in and couldn't quite get back into it. "Urban Legends?" she suggested. Janaya banged her hand against the table, and sat up straight, her eyes wide with realisation.

"That's it!" she cried, making a few of the people around her jump. She had the decency to look ashamed and lowered her voice. "The hook man legend! He did the exact same thing in that movie!"

Nora looked sceptical. "The hook man?" she asked. "That's one of the most widely known urban legends in the world. Why would he be here?"

Janaya frowned. "You're right, but I'm sure it's him. Maybe we should ask Sam and Dean?"

At that moment, Sam and Dean came over to where they were sitting.

"We think it might be the hook man," Dean said and Janaya through an 'I told you so' look at Nora who stuck her tongue out at her before turning back to Sam and Dean.

"What about the phantom scratches, the invisible killer? Where does that fit into the hook man legend?" Nora asked, frowning.

Sam and Dean looked at each other before answering. "We asked those same questions," Sam said nodding, "but what if the hook man isn't actually a man? What if he's a spirit of some kind?"

Nora mulled this over for a bit. "So what's the plan? How do we figure this one out?" she asked eventually.

Dean looked at Sam who stood up and went to one of the librarians to ask for something. Not ten minutes later, the librarian came over to them with two large boxes.

"Here you go," she said, dumping the boxes on the table, "arrest records going back to eighteen fifty-one."

They smiled at her as she walked off and pulled random documents out of the boxes. Dean wasn't impressed.

"So this is how you spent four good years of your life?" he asked, hinting that staying with him and their father would have been better.

"Welcome to higher education," Sam retorted, flicking through one of the documents.

OoOoOoO

Janaya blinked at the document in her hand and found herself tempted to leave her eyes closed. They'd been looking for hours and still nothing, it was getting a little tedious.

"Hey! Look at his!" Nora said excitedly, obviously glad that she had been the one to discover the clue. Janaya moved over to her as did Dean and Sam. "In eighteen sixty-two, a preacher named Jacob Carnes was arrested for murder. Apparently he was so angry over the red light district in town that one night he went out and killed thirteen prostitutes. Oooh, some of the victims were found in their beds, their sheets soaked with blood, other's were suspended upside down from trees as a warning against sins of the flesh." Nora looked up, looking very proud of herself. Janaya smiled at her.

Dean pulled out a loose piece of paper from the document. "Get this, the murder weapon. Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident and had it replaced with a silver hook."

Nora, not wanting to be outdone, looked over her document again and smiled. "Check out where all this happened," she said, pointing to something on the page. Janaya leaned forward to see where Nora was pointing.

"Nine Mile Road," Janaya read. "Isn't that where that frat boy was killed?"

Dean read the line too and smiled at Nora. "Nice job."

OoOoOoO

They pulled up on Nine Mile Road and climbed out of the car.

"You know, I kinda regret pointing this place out," Nora said, gripping Janaya's arm tightly as Sam and Dean went to the trunk of the car.

Sam and Dean came back, Dean carrying some rope and Sam carrying a shotgun. Nora moved from Janaya's arm to Sam's arm although she was careful to hold the arm that wasn't holding the gun. Janaya grabbed Dean's hand and he looked at her surprised but she wasn't looking at him, she was too busy trying to see through the trees. The four of them moved towards the trees but stopped suddenly when they heard foot steps in the darkness. They froze and Nora was forced to let go of Sam as he raised the shotgun and prepared to fire. There was another movement in the trees and then yelling.

"Put the gun down, now!" a man barked as he burst through the trees, carrying his own weapon. "Now! Put your hands behind your head!"

Sam dropped the gun and put his hands behind his head. Janaya let go of Dean's hand and she and Nora stepped back as the man pointed his gun at Dean and barked orders at him.

"What do we do?" Nora whispered frantically, looking from the gun, to the man wielding it, to Sam and Dean.

Janaya shrugged. "Just stay calm, everything will be fine," she comforted, hoping her words were true. She looked more closely at the man and realised he was a police officer and calmed down.

"Get on your bellies!" he yelled at Sam and Dean who did as they were told quickly although Dean was very reluctant.

"He's the one with the gun," he moaned as he positioned himself so that the police officer would have a clear shot of the back of his head.

OoOoOoO

"You two are so lucky you have us," Nora told Sam and Dean as they left the police station. "You barely even have to pay a fine, I mean, you do but it's not much."

Sam and Dean rolled their eyes but were actually entirely grateful. They couldn't do their job if they were in a cell.

"What did you guys say to them anyway?" Sam asked, sliding his hand into Nora's as they walked. Nora grinned and fought the urge to giggle. She looked at Janaya to answer the question, afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would say something stupid and immature.

"We told them that you were pledges and we were there to make sure you carried out your task and suffered for it," Janaya explained. "They didn't believe us at first, thought we were trying to cover for you but we managed to persuade them." She winked at Nora and Sam saw it.

"You didn't…" he trailed off, not really wanting to finish the sentence. Janaya looked at him vaguely for a moment then her eyes widened and she grimaced.

"Oh, god no!" she said firmly. "We just used a little bit of, well, magic, to get them to open their minds to the possibility that we may be telling the truth. That's all." She shook her head and grimaced again. "That's just wrong, what do you think I am?"

Sam looked guilty. "Sorry I didn't mean to imply you were…" he trailed off again and turned away. Janaya was smiling at him now, trying not to laugh at the fact that he always had to be nice. Dean laughed though, and put his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

"What would I do without you?" he asked, dramatically.

Janaya smiled. "No doubt you'd be…" it was her turn to trail off this time and she turned around to see three police men race out of the police department and get into their patrol cars hurriedly. The sirens went on and the cars sped away from the building. Janaya watched them go then looked up at Dean confusedly.

"You don't think…?" she didn't even have to finish. The four of them jumped into the Chevy and followed the patrol cars, as closely behind as they could.

OoOoOoO

The patrol cars had stopped outside a beautiful white building which looked very much like a sorority house. An ambulance was also parked outside and Lori sat in it with a blanket wrapped around her, looking thoroughly traumatised. Dean drove past the front of the sorority and around the corner where he pulled over next to a low fence hidden by trees. Sam and Dean climbed out of the car and made to go over the fence and through the trees but stopped when they realised the girls were with them.

"You're coming?" Dean asked, shocked. He hadn't really expected the girls to be into snooping around crime scenes. Nora and Janaya nodded before pushing ahead of them and going over the fence first.

"We may be able to shed some light on whatever you find," Nora explained before disappearing after Janaya. Sam and Dean looked at each other and shrugged before following the girls. The four sneaked through the trees and ended up at the back of the building. They walked with their backs against a wall, taking care to stay out of sight.

"Why would the hook man come here?" Sam asked, noticing one of the patrol cars and leaning into the wall. "It's a long way from Nine Mile Road."

Dean shrugged. "Maybe he's not haunting the scene of his crime. Maybe it's about something else." Two sorority girls left the building, dangerously close to where they were standing and they all jerked back and tried to flatten themselves against the wall more. When they realised they hadn't been spotted, they relaxed.

"Hey, sorority girls," Dean pointed out, grinning. "Think we'll see a naked pillow fight?" Janaya reached forward and slapped Dean in the back of the head.

"I'm standing right here, dumbass,' she said, glaring.

Dean had the decency to look guilty. "Sorry,' he muttered. Before turning around and seeing Sam climbing onto a balcony. He helped Sam up then Nora and Janaya and then hoisted himself up. He looked over the edge of the balcony then moved backwards quickly afraid of being spotted by the police.

Sam and Nora had found and opened a window and were in the middle of climbing through it when Dean reached them.

"Is there anyone in there?" he asked, trying to peer through the window.

"If there were do you think we'd be climbing through?" Sam said, rolling his eyes climbing the rest of the way into the building, Nora following close behind. Dean shrugged, knowing he had asked a stupid question. Dean moved forward to climb through the window at the same time Janaya did. Dean stopped and gestured for Janaya to go ahead of him. As she climbed through the window, Dean tilted his head to the side, admiring the view.

"Dean, stop staring at my ass. It's degrading," Janaya said, although she sounded angry, there was a hint of satisfaction in her voice that made Dean smiled as he climbed in after her.

Janaya looked around her and realised they were in a linen closet of some kind. Sam was slowly opening the door and peering out but he jerked back suddenly, seeing a police officer in the room. He peered out again and watched the officer leave the room and go down stairs. Quietly, the four moved out of the closet and into the room that it was attached to.

The room itself was very plain, pale yellow walls, mainly dull colours. The sheets on one of the beds were white but the other… the other bed's sheets were a deep, crimson red. There was blood still dripping from them and a huge puddle of it on the floor. Also, yellow police tape surrounded it.

"Does anyone else find it strange that we just happened to climb through the window leading to the crime scene?" Janaya asked, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone. She flicked it open and went to the camera menu. She took several photos of the bed as she walked around the room to get different angles of it.

"Don't step in the blood," she cautioned the others who were also wandering around the room. "If you do, you'll automatically become a suspect." They all immediately watched their feet while they walked.

"Why are you taking pictures?" Dean asked. He'd stopped moving so he would be able to look up at her without fear of stepping in the blood.

"You need to watch more TV," she said looking around the room. "This means, we can keep going back to the crime scene and looking at things again without actually physically going back to the crime scene. Honestly, have you never seen CSI?" She turned her attention the wall behind the blood soaked bed and gasped. Written on the wall, in what looked to be blood, was 'AREN"T YOU GLAD YOU DIDN"T TURN ON THE LIGHT?' with a symbol drawn underneath it.

"Whoa," she said and took a few pictures of it, zooming in on the symbol.

"Eugh," Nora said from the behind Janaya. "What's that smell?" They turned around to face her and saw her covering her nose and her mouth with the sleeve of her top.

"That means it's definitely a spirit," Dean explained, moving over to the window to peer outside.

"I've never smelt one this strong before," Sam said, wrinkling his nose at the smell. Nora coughed slightly then took a deep breath through her mouth before covering her face again.

"Seth didn't smell this bad," Janaya said, now noticing the smell too but generally ignoring it. "Actually I don't remember Seth leaving behind strange smells at all during the haunting. Why this particular spirit?"

Sam and Dean both shrugged. "Maybe because this one's older, or more powerful, I dunno," Dean said stepping away from the window again.

"Nora, you were looking at the Jacob Carnes document," Janaya said, moving over to Nora and showing her one of the pictures on her phone. "Does that symbol look familiar to you?"

Nora squinted her eyes at the photo then nodded. "Yeah, I do remember seeing that somewhere on the page," she said.

"Well, I photocopied the pages of that document," Sam said. "They're in the car." Without a word, the four climbed back out of the building and returned to the Chevy.

Sam pulled out a leather journal from the glove compartment and opened it to the place where he had stuck the information on Jacob Carnes. He unfolded the paper and handed it to Nora who looked it over.

"There, see?" she said, pointing a picture of the hook that Jacob Carnes had attached to his arm. "The symbol from upstairs is the same symbol dangling from the hook."

"So it's definitely the preacher's spirit," Dean muttered, looking over Nora's shoulder as the paper. "So now all we have to do is find the dude's grave, salt and burn the bones and put him down."

Nora passed the paper to Sam who read it carefully.

"After execution," Sam read aloud, "Jacob Carnes was laid to rest in Old North Cemetery… in an unmarked grave."

Janaya and Nora sighed frustratedly and went to take their seats in the back of the car.

"Okay," Sam began, also going to get into the car. "So we know its Jacob Carnes, but we still don't know where he'll manifest next, or why."

Dean pulled a parking ticket off the front of his car and looked at it, frowning. After a while, he screwed it up and stuffed it into his pocket.

"I'll take a guess as to why," Dean said, looking at Sam as they both sat down in the front seats of the car. "I think you're friend Lori has something to do with it."

OoOoOoO

They arrived back at the fraternity house shortly after dark because they had taken a detour to the library (Well, Nora and Sam had, Dean and Janaya had gone off to find some coffee. They found the fraternity pumping with loud, bass filled music. Sam and Dean walked ahead of the girls through the throng of dancing people. Nora and Janaya walked behind them, bobbing their heads slightly to the music, after a while, Janaya stopped and started dancing to the music, Nora joining in. Not dancing with Janaya but next to her, close enough so that people would stay away from them but far enough away so that people didn't mistake them for… attention seekers. It was a technique they had perfected not so very long ago.

"Dude, you've been holding out on me," Dean said, looking at all the people around him who were having fun. "This college thing is awesome!"

Sam shrugged. "This hasn't really been… my… experience." Sam had stopped and was staring at something behind Dean. Dean turned around to see what was behind him and found himself staring as well. The two brothers stood completely still, watching their girlfriends dance, unable to take their eyes off them.

"You know," Dean started, swallowing hard. "I swear those two get hotter everyday." Sam nodded because that was all he could do. Janaya and Nora seemed to tire out and stopped dancing, skipping over to Sam and Dean. Both brothers cleared their throats and blinked to make it look like they hadn't been staring.

"So what did you find out?" Janaya asked Sam, bringing them back to the task at hand.

"What? Oh yeah,' Sam blinked again then pulled out some papers from his pocket and started walking over to somewhere quieter, the others following close behind. "So I think I figured out why the hook man is following Lori." He unrolled the papers and handed it to Dean.

"Nineteen thirty-two, a clergyman arrested for murder…" Dean read aloud. He picked another piece of paper from the roll. "Seminarian held in hippie rampage…"

"There's a pattern there," Nora piped up, making the group stop. "In both cases, there was a man of religion who openly preached against immorality. And _then_ found themselves wanted for killings they claimed were done by an invisible force." Nora paused for dramatic effect. "Killings," she continued, "done with a sharp instrument."

Dean looked confused. "What's the connection to Lori?" he asked.

"Duh, her father is a man of religion who openly preaches against immorality," Janaya said, looking at him like it was the simplest thing in the world. "I'm surprised he hasn't killed me because I'm pagan and in his eyes that would make me evil."

"Well, instead of trying to save the whole town, which would probably involve killing you, he's just trying to save his own daughter," Sam reasoned.

"So you think Reverend Sorenson it summoning the spirit?" Dean asked, hoping it wasn't another stupid question.

Sam shrugged. "Maybe, or… you know how a poltergeist can haunt a person instead of a place?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, the spirit latches on to the reverend's repressed emotions and feeds off them. Yeah, okay."  
Sam nodded too. "Without the reverend even knowing."

Janaya and Nora looked at each other and shook their heads. "Sometimes I wonder why we bother trying to join in on their conversations," Nora muttered, rolling her eyes. Janaya nodded her agreement.

"Either way," Dean was saying, "You two," he nodded at Sam and Nora, "should keep an eye on Lori tonight."

Sam nodded. There was a lot of nodding going on in this conversation. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

Dean looked at Janaya for confirmation that she was going with him and, when she nodded, smiled. "We're going to see if we can find this unmarked grave," he said. He held out his arm in a gentleman like fashion to Janaya who took it, laughing, and together they walked out of the fraternity, leaving Sam and Nora looking at each other and rolling there eyes.

OoOoOoO

"Oh look! An unmarked… never mind," Janaya said, walking away from the grave and pointing her flash light somewhere else. "How the hell are we supposed to know which unmarked grave is his?" she asked, frustratedly and tripped over a stone of some kind and fell flat on her face, "'cause this is really starting to suck." Dean ran over to her and knelt down beside her, helping her to her knees. He gave her the once over just to make sure that she was alright.

"You're lip's bleeding," he pointed out, wiping the blood away with his thumb. They looked at each other for a while, then Janaya cleared her throat and blinked.

"Yeah, well, that's what I get for falling on my face… oh look I found the grave," she said, pointing to the grave in front of her that had that same symbol from the bedroom carved into it. "It's not unmarked, it's unnamed… stupid library, always lying…" Dean laughed and helped her to her feet. He examined the grave for a while and Janaya got impatient.

"Can we hurry this up? I'm afraid of the dark enough as it is, it's worse being in a cemetery and it's even worse that we're in a cemetery digging up the grave of a serial killer," she said, shivering slightly and looking around.

OoOoOoO

Sam and Nora stopped outside Lori's house. Nora frowned for a second. "How did we know she lives here?" she asked, confused.

"Phone book. And the church is right across the road, it makes sense they would live nearby… oh look there she is," he pointed to the window and Nora turned to see Lori and her father arguing in their house.

"Wow, you were right," Nora said, feeling a little ashamed that she was so surprised. Sam was very smart of course he would have been right. "So what do we do?"

Sam thought for a minute. "Um you should patrol the perimeter," he said finally. "And by that I mean wander around the outside of the house for a while and tell me if you see anything."

Nora widened her eyes at him. "I know what you mean by patrol the perimeter but are you crazy? There is a serial killer ghost on the loose and you want me to wander around in the dark, by myself?" Sam realised she had a point. He thought for a bit longer then looked at her.

"Okay, you're right,' he said, he handed her a flashlight and the shot gun. "Does that make you feel better?"

"Not really," Nora said, taking the flashlight and gun from him. "But fine." She turned the flashlight on and was gone before Sam could say anything else.

OoOoOoO

Dean was breathing heavily and his arms were getting tired from all the digging. He dumped another shovel of dirt onto the ground above him and paused briefly, trying to catch his breath.

"That's it," he said in between breaths. "Next time I get to watch the cute girl's house."

"Hey!" Janaya said, semi angrily. "I'm standing right here you know. As punishment for that, you have to dig faster. However, in reward for _that_ I'll let you feel me up in the car."

Without a word, Dean got back to digging and it was at an obviously faster pace. He felt himself begin to tire out again but he kept digging at the same pace until he heard a crash beneath his feet. He had finally reached the coffin of Jacob Carnes and had broken through it.

"Hello, Preacher," he said as he broke through the rest of the coffin lid. He chucked his shovel to the side and prepared to burn the bones.

OoOoOoO

Sam looked around. He was sitting on a bench outside Lori's house alone and at night. Nora also hadn't come back yet and he was beginning to get worried. He turned and saw Lori coming towards him and smiled.

"I saw you from upstairs," she said, smiling. "What are you doing here?"

Sam looked at his feet then back at Lori. "I'm, uh, keeping an eye on the place," he said. When she just looked at him, he continued. "I was worried."

"About me?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, sorry," Sam said as she sat down next to him

Nora finally made her way around the last corner of the house; it was a lot bigger than it looked from the front. She stopped suddenly when she saw Sam and Lori sitting next to each other and talking. She just stood there and watched them, not wanting to interrupt but not wanting to let Sam out of her sight.

OoOoOoO

Janaya handed Dean the container of salt, the bottle of kerosene and the packet of matches from his bag. She shined the flashlight into the grave so that Dean could see and watched. He thoroughly covered the bones with salt, using most of what was in the container. He then doused the bones in kerosene. He struck a match and held on to it for a second then tossed it into the grave and watched it burst in to flame. Dean moved over to stand by Janaya who was mesmerised by the flames. She felt his arm slide around her waist and turned her face to look up at him, then reached up and kissed him. He kissed her back and they stood like that for a while, just the two of them standing by a roaring fire, kissing.

OoOoOoO

Nora hadn't moved from her place next to the house. She wondered why she didn't go over and talk to them both. She knew it was more than just not wanting to interrupt a conversation. Then it came to her. She wanted to test him. To make sure he was… faithful. She knew it was selfish of her to do it but she couldn't help it. She thought she might love Sam and she wanted to make sure of it. It was very hard to see exactly what was going on because all she could see was their backs and a little bit of their faces but it seemed to her that Lori was getting angry about something. Suddenly, Nora found herself walking over to them, and she breathed a sigh of relief, she was being normal again, not crazy possessive. She felt her heart quicken when she saw Lori lean forward and hug Sam, she relaxed slightly when he hesitated to hug her back. She had almost reached them and was about to say something but again stopped. Lori had pulled back slightly from the hug and had kissed Sam. She wasn't sure if Sam kissed Lori back or not but their lips seemed to touch for a long time.

"Oh my god," she choked finally, making both Lori and Sam jump and look at her. "How could you –"

"Lori, come inside." Lori's father was standing in the doorway of the house. "Please," he added.

Lori looked from Sam to Nora and felt a little guilty; she wanted to make things right so she glared at her father. "I'll come in when I'm ready!" Something dark passed behind Lori's father and there was a horrible slicing sound before the reverend was jerked back into the house and disappeared, screaming.

Nora tossed Sam the shotgun and she and Lori followed Sam as he ran into the house. They hesitated once inside, having no idea which way to go, until they heard the reverend screaming from upstairs. Sam ran upstairs and into the room at the end of the hall and caught the hook man with his hook raised, about to slice Reverend Sorenson to pieces. Without even thinking, Sam shot at it, startling it and forcing it out of the house. Lori was leaping up the stairs after Nora. Nora rushed to the reverend's side, Lori right next to her. She found his wound and took her jacket off, pressing it against the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Sam call and ambulance," she ordered. "Lori, everything is going to be fine," she soothed trying to keep the hysterical girl calm. She noticed Sam hadn't moved and she turned to him angrily. "Sam! Call nine-one-one!"

Sam wanted to help, he wanted to comfort Nora, he wanted to apologise. "But I –" he started to tell her this but she cut him off.

"Sam, call the fucking ambulance! I am not in the mood, nor do we have the time, to argue about this!" she yelled, getting worried that if the reverend didn't get help soon, he would die. Sam looked from the reverend to Lori then to Nora and nodded, pulling out his cell phone and dialling the emergency number.

OoOoOoO

Janaya and Dean were on their way to the hospital where Sam had told them to meet. He seemed a mix between, angry, scared and confused at the time so Dean was hurrying. When they did finally reach the hospital and had found Sam, they were stopped by two police officers.

"It's alright, we're with them," Dean was trying to explain. He looked over to Sam. "That's my brother. Hey! Brother!" he called and the police officer who had been talking to Sam nodded for them to be let through. Sam and Dean met half way and Janaya noticed that Nora was lagging behind, not in her usual place by Sam's side. She went ahead of Dean and went to her friend to see what was wrong.

"Are you okay, Nor?" she asked, although she already knew the answer. Nora thought about saying that yes, she was fine but she knew Janaya already knew she wasn't so what was the point in lying?

"No, I'm not okay," she said, not angrily, just stating a fact. "I think I just had my heart ripped out but I'm not sure 'cause I don't think this has ever happened before."

"Awwh," Janaya crooned before pulling Nora into a hug and letting her cry into her shoulder. She looked over at Dean and Sam and wondered what could have happened.

Dean glanced over at Janaya and Nora and raised an eyebrow, what was going on over there? He looked at Sam for a moment before speaking. "Dude, what's going on?" he asked. When Sam looked at him questioningly, he nodded his head in the direction of the girls. Sam turned around and, seeing Nora crying, closed his eyes and looked away.

"Sam, what did you do?" Dean asked, more firmly this time, remembering what Janaya said to Sam the other day, _If you break her heart, I will break you_. He knew that even though she had smiled right after she said it, it was not an idle threat.

Sam looked at his older brother, the look in his eyes conveying pain, and asking for help. "I didn't do anything, that's the problem," he said.

Dean looked confused. "What do you mean, you didn't do anything?" he asked. "Nora is crying, very hard by the looks of things, and if you don't fix it, you are going to end up in a lot of pain. Now tell me what happened."

Sam took a few deep breaths. "We were at Lori's keeping an eye on the place, like you said. I sent Nora to wander around the house and to come back and tell me if she saw anything. After a while, Lori came out of the house and started talking to me. Nora came back just as Lori kissed me," Sam explained, saying that last sentence with a hushed voice. "I didn't kiss her back. I swear I didn't but… I didn't push her away and so… Nora must think I kissed her back."

Dean blinked at his younger brother. It was hard to believe that so soon after the death of his girlfriend, he had two beautiful girls after him and he'd already broken one of their hearts. He shook his head and noticed the girls coming towards them. "After we have solved this case, you are going to fix everything with Nora, okay?"

Sam nodded and followed Dean down the corridor, then a thought struck him. "Why didn't you torch the bones?" he asked.

Again, Dean looked confused. "What do you mean? I did torch the bones," he defended, his muscles very aware of the hard work it was getting to the bones.

"He did, it was amazing," Janaya said, catching up with them. "Why? What happened to Lori's dad?"

Sam looked from Janaya to Nora. "Nora didn't tell you?" he asked, hoping that meant she also hadn't told Janaya why she'd been crying.

Janaya looked Sam up and down and glared. "She was a little pre-occupied," she said, her voice dangerously low. Dean sensed Sam's impending doom and stepped in. He took Janaya's hand in his and pulled her over to him, enveloping her in a hug that she couldn't get out of without having to seriously hurt him so she let it be, although she wasn't quite sure why he was hugging her.

"It was the hook man," Nora said quietly, her first words in Sam's presence since she had yelled at him to call an ambulance. "The hook man attacked Lori's dad, that's why we thought you hadn't burned the bones."

Sam nodded in agreement and smiled at Nora who looked away from him, causing his smile to dissipate. He cleared his throat and turned back to Dean who saw the hurt in his younger brother's eyes. "There's another thing," Sam said, focusing on the job now, not his own problems. "I don't think the hook man is haunting the reverend."

Dean nodded. "Well, yeah, the reverend wouldn't set the hook man on himself," he smiled at nurse who walked by and gave them a funny look.

"I think it's latching on to Lori," Sam said, trying not to look at Nora as he explained. "Tonight, she found out that her father is having an affair with a married woman."

Dean shrugged, a difficult move with his arms around Janaya, but he managed it. "So what?" he asked, and Janaya hoped he meant: 'so what she found out,' not: 'so what her father is having an affair.'

"She's upset about it, about the _immorality_ of it," he elaborated. "She told me that she was raised to believe that if you do something wrong, you get punished."

Nora looked thoughtful. "So she killed her boyfriend, her best friend and nearly killed her father," Nora said aloud her thoughts, she turned to Sam angrily then. "So that's the girl you chose to cheat on me with? You _like_ the murderous kind?" she turned on her heel and stormed down the corridor, presumably towards the car.

"Nora! I…" he trailed off when he realised she wasn't going to listen. He punched the nearest wall and rested his forehead against it. "I am such and idiot!"

Janaya looked at Sam thoughtfully. "Yes, Sam. You are an idiot," she said after a while. "And I would kick you if Dean would let go of me but he's not going to do that till I promise to not kick you. So you see, I'm in a bit of a dilemma." Dean kissed the top of her head, making Janaya smile before she focused her attention back on Sam. "Nora says that Lori kissed you. She's not sure if you kissed her back or not but what she is sure of is that you didn't stop Lori, which is just as bad if you think about it. It means you thought about kissing back when you should have pulled back immediately."

Sam banged his head on the wall for a bit before nodding. "So anyway," he said, again trying to focus on the job. "If you burned the bones, why didn't it get rid of the spirit?" That stopped everyone, it was a good question. Burning the bones was the standard way of getting rid of a spirit, so what went wrong this time? "Did you burn the hook?" Sam asked suddenly.

"What?" Dean asked, confused.

"Well, it was the murder weapon, and it was sort of part of him," Sam said, mainly thinking aloud.

"So, like the bones, the hook is the source of his power," Janaya said thoughtfully. She looked at Sam and Dean who were nodding.

"So, if we get the hook…" Dean started. "We stop the hook man," Sam and Dean both said in unison.

Janaya gave them both a weird look. "Yeah, don't do that again."

OoOoOoO

They pulled up outside the library and no body spoke. Dean looked into the back of the car and looked from Janaya to Nora then back again.

"Do you guys want to stay here while we go and figure this out?" he asked, aware that Nora probably didn't want to be around Sam too much at the moment. Janaya looked at Nora, who nodded slightly, the nodded herself. She watched the brothers get out of the car and disappear into the library. Janaya took off her safety belt and moved around in her seat until she was sitting cross legged and facing Nora.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked, knowing it was a stupid question but feeling the need to ask it anyway. Nora gave her a strange look before folding her arms and turning to look out the window. "Nor?" Janaya asked, softly.

Nora turned to look at her, the pain fresh in her eyes again. "No I'm not feeling better, Jay. I feel betrayed, and I feel hurt and the worst part is, I still like him. I really do but…" she trailed off and resumed looking out the window forlornly.

"But what, Nor?" Janaya asked. "You're afraid you won't be able to trust him again, is that it?" Nora simply nodded and Janaya let go of a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, nor did she know why. "Sam is one of the most trustworthy people I've ever met. Once you find out who he is, he has no reason to lie. Sam feels awful about what happened. He didn't kiss her back, Nor. He didn't, he just… he didn't know how to react. She's been through a lot and he didn't want to hurt her and well, now he's hurt you and he can't stand it."

Nora slowly turned to face Janaya. "How do you know that?" she asked, he voice tight with holding back from crying. "How do you know that that's true?"

"Because I know when people are lying, you know it too, if you'd at least heard him out, you would know," Janaya explained. "Besides," Janaya said, smiling slightly. "If he'd lied to me I would have castrated him by now." Nora gave Janaya a weird look as she laughed then joined in, feeling much better about everything now.

OoOoOoO

The church looked kind of intimidating at night. Janaya had thought it was bad enough during the day with all the people but now she thought it was definitely worse at night.

"So how're we gonna do this?" Dean asked, looking from the church, to the house to the people with him. Sam looked at the house and noticed that all the lights were out.

"Well, it looks like Lori's still at the hospital, so I'll go and look in the house," he said, turning back to the rest of the group. Dean nodded and looked questioningly at Janaya and Nora.

"What are we looking for?" Janaya asked, suddenly remembering that they hadn't told them anything since they'd left the library.

"The hook was melted down and re-forged then donated to the church, so we're looking for anything silver in either the reverend's house or the church itself," Dean explained, "Then we're gonna melt it all down, since we don't know exactly what we're looking for." Janaya nodded as her brain processed the information.

"Okay, well, as much as I hate to go into that church at night, I'm uncomfortable invading a Reverend's house so I'm with you, Dean."

Nora looked from the church to the house to Sam then Dean then back to Sam again. She sighed loudly then stepped towards Sam. "I'm with you, Sam," she said and Sam looked at her in surprise. He smiled slightly, careful not to get too happy in case she decided to change her mind.

"Great!" Dean said, smiling broadly. "Let's go, Jay." He took her by the hand and led her to the church.

OoOoOoO

Sam picked up a candlestick off the table and looked at it for a while before bagging it. He looked at Nora who was examining a picture frame.

"Nora?" he began, cautiously. She turned to him and raised an eyebrow questioningly. He took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm sorry." Nora closed her eyes and turned away. Sam cursed himself under his breath then moved over to Nora. He grabbed her shoulders gently and turned her to face him. "Nora, can you just listen to me for a second?" he asked. "Please?"

Nora looked up at him and was met by a pair of beautiful hazel eyes. "Janaya already explained everything to me, Sam," Nora said, trying to look away.

Confusion crossed Sam's face. "She did?" he asked, "Why?"

Nora tried to shrug but it was difficult with Sam still holding her shoulders. "She seems to believe whatever it was that you told her,' she explained," and if she believes you, then I believe you."

Relief replaced the confusion on Sam's face. "So… are we okay?" he asked, hopefully. Nora frowned slightly, unsure of what to say. She opened her mouth so say something then closed it again. She tried again and still nothing came out. She frowned harder, not happy with being unable to put her thoughts into words. Her frowning looked very interesting from Sam's point of view as she was still looking into his eyes while she did. Finally, she stopped frowning and smiled. She reached up and felt his hands slide away from her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He kissed back immediately and wrapped his arms around her waist. She pulled back and smiled. "Does that answer your question?" she asked, slightly breathless. He nodded and smiled. "Good," she said, letting go of him and wriggling out of his grasp. "Can we get back to work now?"

Sam laughed and returned to bagging items around the house that looked even slightly silver.

OoOoOoO

Dean was lighting a fire in the church fireplace in the basement when Janaya came downstairs to find him, carrying a load of silver items.

"What are you doing?" she asked, dropping her load at the edge of the fireplace.

Dean looked confused. "I'm building a fire to melt down the silver," he explained, he thought he was being clever.

Janaya rolled her eyes. "You can't melt down silver in an open fire, Dean. It will never get hot enough," she explained. However, she bent down and helped him light it.

"If we can't use an open fire then why are you helping me light it? And what else are we supposed to use?" Dean asked, slightly miffed. Janaya frowned at him then smiled kindly, knowing she had bruised his pride.

_Boys' egos are so easily hurt_ she thought to herself. "We can use this. I'll just have to make it hot enough my self." She stood up and dusted her hands, then looked at the fire for a very long time. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Sam and Nora coming down the stairs carrying bags of what she hoped was silver.

"We weren't really sure what to get so we got everything that looked silver," Sam explained emptying the bags next to where Janaya ad dumped her load.

"Start putting the silver into the fire, it may take me a while to heat it up," Janaya said, focusing her attention back on the fire. She held her hands out to the side slightly, her palms facing up. She closed her eyes and focused on the heat of the fire, concentrating on making it hotter. She muttered something in Latin that the others couldn't hear and immediately felt the fire heat up. Not much but it did heat up and it was still going. There was a slight thumping from upstairs and Janaya almost lost it but she remained calm and heard Sam and Nora go upstairs to check what it was.

"Jay?" Dean asked tentatively five minutes later. "Are you okay?" Janaya thought that was a strange question to ask, she felt fine and was managing to listen to him and keep control of the spell, she thought she was perfectly okay.

"I'm fine, why?" she asked, and realised her voice sounded shaky.

"You're kind of… swaying," Dean said and she felt him move closer, probably to catch her if she fell. She hadn't realised she was swaying, although her eyes were closed and she couldn't see so that made sense.

"I'm fine," she said then turned to her attention to the fire. "Dean, is everything melting yet?"

Dean looked into the fire and couldn't even see any of the silver things they'd put in there. "Yeah, they're all melted," he answered, a hint of worry in his voice. "Does that mean you can stop now?"

Janaya nodded slowly and moved her arms until they rested at her sides. The fire cooled to its normal temperature quickly and Janaya opened her eyes to find Dean's worried face in front of hers. "Ha, I'm a little dizzy," she said, smiling slightly.

His face remained looking worried and he didn't smile back. "Maybe we should get you to a doctor," he suggested. Janaya shook her head and then wished she hadn't because it just made her dizzier.

"I'm fine," she said. "I just need to –" She was interrupted by a scream from upstairs. They both looked up and weren't sure what to think. Dean looked at Janaya like he was asking permission to go upstairs and see what was wrong.

"Just go, Dean. I'm fine," she said, pushing him up the stairs then sitting down in front of the fire trying to stop the world from spinning.

OoOoOoO

Dean pulled out the shotgun as he saw the hook man raise his hook and about to slash at Nora. He shot the hook man through the back and ran over to Sam, Nora and Lori.

"What's going on?" he asked, confused. He spun around when he heard a scratching coming from the hall he'd just run down and saw a line being scratched into the wall by an invisible force. "We melted everything silver we found and we still haven't found the hook? This ghost just doesn't go away does he?" The scratching got closer and Dean turned around and shot a point on the wall, blowing a huge chunk of the wall off.

Nora looked around at Lori suddenly and saw her necklace. The cross was the same one from the picture of the hook from the Jacob Carnes document and she remembered when they'd first met Lori that Janaya had asked if it was silver and Lori had said yes. She reached forwards and yanked the necklace off Lori who cried out in protest.

"Shut up I'm saving your life," Nora said and tossed the necklace to Dean. She jumped when the scratching came from behind her and she wriggle away from it. Dean tossed the shotgun to Sam who caught it and shot at the wall behind Nora.

"Hurry up, Dean," Nora called frantically as she and Lori scooted further and further into a corner and away from the phantom scratches that were following them.

OoOoOoO

"Jay!" Dean called as he came running down the stairs. Janaya looked up from her place on the floor and looked confused. Dean held up the necklace and tossed it in the fire. "You need to heat the fire up again," he said, though it was clear he didn't really want her to do it again. "Like now. Sam, Nora and Lori are in trouble."

Janaya stood up quickly and nodded. She closed her eyes and put her arms out palms facing up again and tried to make the fire hotter again but faster, she muttered that word in Latin again and the fire got hotter but not hot enough, she said it again but Dean still couldn't hear her and the fire still heated at it's slow pace.

Getting very frustrated, Janaya concentrated harder on the fire. "ESTUS!" she screamed. Her eyes flew open and her pupils had dilated to the point that her eyes were entirely black. The fire started heating at an incredible rate and the necklace started melting. Janaya couldn't feel anything except the heat of the fire, not even the blood that was trickling out of her nose. The necklace was almost completely melted and upstairs, Sam, Nora and Lori were watching the hook man dissipate but downstairs, Janaya was still heating the fire, she'd lost control. Suddenly, she screamed and fell to the ground, convulsing slightly before falling completely still.

"Jay!" Dean cried frantically, rushing to her side. He lifted her head onto his lap and tried to wake her up. "Janaya please wake up," he pleaded, wiping the blood away with his sleeve. "Come on, Jay, don't do this to me." He scooped her into his arms and carried her upstairs to the others.

OoOoOoO

"What's wrong with her?" Lori asked, seeing Dean come up the stairs with Janaya in his arms. Nora turned around and ran over to Dean to get a better look at Janaya.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice filled with worry. Dean shrugged and he looked helpless.

"I dunno," he said, looking down at Janaya worriedly. "She was heating the fire again and then everything went crazy and she collapsed."

"Shit," Nora whispered and slapped her forehead. "She tried to do it too soon and too quickly didn't she? She is so stupid! She burned herself out," she explained. "She shouldn't have tried to heat the fire again so soon after heating it the first time. She doesn't have enough power to cope with that, she knows that."

Dean nodded. "She was just trying to save you," he said. "She had to do it or you guys would have been killed."

"I know," Nora said, patting Dean's shoulder comfortingly. "I know."

OoOoOoO

"So, this guy with the hook, he just, disappeared?" the police officer asked, looking at Dean like he was crazy. Dean shrugged and the police officer took note of it. "Now listen, you and your friends have been –"

"Yeah, yeah, we're leaving town," he said before walking away. He headed towards the ambulances that were parked outside the church. In one of them, Sam was getting fixed up; Nora standing next to him like Lori hadn't caused any problems between them. In the other one, Janaya was lying on a gurney, with an oxygen mask over her face. Dean stopped outside the ambulance and knocked on the door.

"Is it okay if I…?" he asked, gesturing at Janaya like the ambulance attendee should automatically know what he meant. The ambulance guy just nodded and Dean stepped into the ambulance and over to Janaya.

"How's it going?" he asked, taking her hand in his and kissing it. With her other hand, Janaya removed the oxygen mask and smiled.

"I'm fine, but this guy won't let me leave, although I have to say, all this pure oxygen is kinda fun," she said, putting the oxygen mask back on. Dean laughed and turned to the attendee.

"Is she okay?" he asked, looking for professional confirmation.

"Yeah, I can't find anything wrong with her so far," he said, looking at Janaya who looked like she'd fallen asleep. "But I'd like to take a few blood samples." At this, Janaya's eyes flew open and she shook her head frantically.

"I don't think that sounds like a good idea," Dean said, calming Janaya down. "We're leaving town anyway so there would be no point."

The attendee gave Dean and Janaya strange looks. "Are you on drugs?" he asked quietly so the police wouldn't hear. Dean's eyes widened and he laughed. Janaya took her oxygen mask off and looked at the attendee.

"No I'm not on drugs, I'm just… afraid of needles," she said. She looked at the attendee with a look of concentration on her face then fell back to the bed when the attendee nodded.

"You can leave now if you want," the attendee said, taking the mask of Janaya and turning the oxygen off. Janaya sat up on the gurney and swung her legs over, sliding off and nearly falling over.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Dean asked, steadying her.

Janaya nodded and jumped out of the ambulance. She swayed slightly then steadied her self and turned back to face Dean. "I'm bored of this town. Can we go now?"


	3. Chapter 3 sort of

**Authors Note: **Okay, did anyone else notice that BUGS was a terrible episode? It doesn't deserve a fan fiction chapter. Not only that, when trying to write an original idea for this chapter to use instead of BUGS, I drew a blank and my writing turned to crap. SO, instead, you get this measly little paragraph which is a lead up to the chapter I can actually write.

HA!

OoOoOoO

Janaya and Nora looked around the motel room and shrugged.

"It's not too bad, I guess," Janaya said, setting her bag down on a table in the kitchen area of the room. "I wish it smelled better though."

Nora laughed and put her bag on the table too. Sam and Dean looked around the motel room and nodded.

"It's bigger and nicer than what we normally have to put up with," Sam said chucking his bag on the floor. "Normally we have a one room... room and it smells even worse."

Dean frowned. "You've never complained before," he said.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Out loud," he corrected. "I haven't complained before _out loud_."

Dean sighed and chucked his bag on top of Sam's.

"Awwh, poor baby," Janaya cooed before kissing him briefly. He smiled at her and she tapped his nose lightly and ran over to the bedroom. "Oooh! It's actually quite nice in here."

Nora laughed and shook her head then instantly regretted it. She was over come by a strong sense of light-headedness and gripped a chair tightly. "Whoa," she muttered, swallowing hard and pulling the chair out from the table so she could sit in it.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, a worried look on his face. Dean also looked worried but he let his younger brother handle it.

Nora blinked a couple of times. "I'm fine," she said, slightly surprised that the feeling had passed so quickly. "That was really weird." Sam looked slightly relieved. There was a crash from the bedroom and Nora bolted from her chair and ran into the bedroom to see what had happened. Janaya was on the floor, her body convulsing violently and a broken lamp by her head. Nora fell down beside Janaya and looked up when she heard a thud on the other side of her. Dean was kneeling next to Janaya, his hands on her arms, trying to keep her still.

"Janaya?" Dean asked tentatively, hoping she might be able to hear him. When she made no response and her body didn't stop convulsing, his expression grew frantic. He had no idea what to do and it scared him.

"Hey, bitch, wake up!" Nora tried. Dean gave her a strange look and Nora shrugged. "It was worth a shot." Dean didn't bother rolling his eyes. Instead he looked back at Janaya. "Dean I think you sh-" Nora was cut off and Dean jumped as they heard a loud knocking on the motel room door.

OoOoOoO

**Authors Note:** Well there you go. That's all you get for now and you probably won't get chapter four until I'm satisfied with the number of reviews I get. REVIEW dammit!


	4. Home

Dean looked from Janaya's convulsing body to the general direction of the door. Reluctantly, he got up and went to answer it. Standing in the doorway was a woman looking worried yet confident. She stood at about five foot four with long, flowing, red-black hair and large, wise, brown eyes. She looked at Dean appraisingly then looked him in the eye and smiled.

"Hi!" she said, her accent the same as Nora and Janaya's. "Who are you?" Dean frowned in confusion. Shouldn't he be the one asking that question? But Nora had recognised the woman's voice and had left Janaya with Sam to greet the woman at the door.

"Palari!" she cried, running forwards to hug the woman. "Palari, there's something wrong with Janaya."

Palari let go of Nora and nodded. "I know," she said, looking serious. "Where is she?"

"Through there," Nora said, pointing to the other room. During this whole exchange, Dean had been frowning in confusion at Nora and Palari.

"Okay, hold on a minute!" cutting Nora and Palari off and frowning harder. "Will somebody please explain to me what the hell is going on here?"

Nora smiled and tried not to laugh at Dean's confusion. She turned to Palari and gestured at Dean. "Palari, this is Janaya's boyfriend, Dean," she introduced and Palari looked Dean up and down but her face remained neutral. Nora turned to Dean and gestured at Palari. "Dean, this is Palari… Janaya's mother." Dean's eyes widened and he looked at Palari more closely. He realised that there were many similarities between Janaya and Palari.

"Oh," was all he could think to say, "uh, yeah, through there." Palari strode past Dean and into the bedroom where Janaya was writhing on the bed.

"I moved her to the bed so she wouldn't hurt herself," Sam explained as they entered the room. Palari smiled at him then moved over to her daughter. She laid her hand on Janaya's forehead and whispered something that the others couldn't understand and Janaya fell still. Palari took her hand away and smiled sadly at her daughter before leaving the room, the others following closely behind. She sat down in the most comfortable chair and looked at Nora.

"How are you, Nora?" she asked when everybody was as comfortable as they were going to get.

"I'm fine, why?" Nora replied, thinking that Palari should be more concerned with what was happening to Janaya.

"No light headedness?" Palari pressed. "Dizziness? Fatigue?"

Nora frowned. "I was kind of light headed right before Janaya colla… you know what's wrong with her don't you?"

"Of course I do, I'm her mother," Palari said, then stopped and looked slightly guilty. "But this one is my fault."

"How?" Nora asked, aware that Palari wouldn't do anything to deliberately harm Janaya.

Palari took a breath before explaining. "Something came after me," she started. "I think it might have been a demon, I'm not sure, but whatever it was, it was pure evil." Nora's eyes widened and Sam and Dean looked at each other, not sure what this had to do with Janaya. "I managed to fight it off, but before it left, it said something." She paused and closed her eyes. "It told me it was going to come after you and Janaya, then left before I could finish it off."

Nora's eyes widened worriedly and Dean looked confused, worried and angry. "Is that what's happening to her? That demon or whatever is attacking her?" he asked.

Palari shook her head. "No. I'm very sure it has no idea where they are and the first way it'll think to track them is through their powers," she explained.

Nora frowned. "I don't understand, how could it track us through our powers, it's never seen our powers has it?"

Palari frowned. Only Dean noticed the hesitation before she answered. "It's seen my powers and mine are very similar to yours. It's evil but not stupid, it could figure it out."

Dean stood up and went to the doorway to see Janaya. She frowned slightly in her sleep and rolled over. "So you're doing this to her?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm. "Taking her power from her?"

Palari nodded and Sam looked confused. "How come Nora isn't… spazzing out?" he asked.

"Nora wasn't born with her power," Palari explained. "Well, not all of it. She has her own which I left with her but what she absorbed from me I took which is less painful. Janaya _was_ born with her power. She's never been without it before. Her body isn't used to not having power; it will try desperately to hold on to it. I have to pull it from her forcefully. It's causing her body to… freak out but she should be alright in a couple of days."

Dean looked at Palari angrily. "What if it finds her anyway? What if you've put her through all that pain, only to leave her defenceless against whatever evil is after her?"

Palari considered yelling at him. Maybe even turning him into a snail for his insolence, and because she hadn't done something as childish as transmogrification since she was sixteen. But she knew he was just worried about Janaya and she had asked herself the same questions.

"I am doing everything I can to keep that thing from finding my girls," Palari said. "But if it does find them, you two will have to hold it off until Janaya and Nora can reach me." She looked at Sam and Dean both when she said this. "I am trusting you to look after them and keep them safe."

Dean stared at her. Mothers didn't tend to trust him with their daughter so this was a new experience for him.

"Should we take her to the hospital or something?" he asked. "Get her something for the pain?"

Palari shook her head. "A hospital won't do anything except ruin her," she said sternly. Even Nora looked confused at this and Palari sighed. "As I said, Janaya was born with her power. She was born a… witch. Hospitals take blood tests, they will notice she's got different DNA and do you know what happens when abnormalities like that are discovered?" she paused to examine the group. Their faces all said that they did know but she continued anyway. "Government jerk-offs decide she's not human, decide she's something evil that should be destroyed or… experimented on."

A look of comprehension dawned on Dean's face. "So that's why a while ago, when we were in Iowa, she freaked out when the paramedic wanted blood samples," he said then nodded. "Okay, no hospitals. Are you going to stay until she wakes up?"

Palari shook her head and stood up. "Actually, I have to go now. If I'm here to long, the demon will find you all," she said sighing. She headed towards the door then turned back to face them. "Tell her I'm sorry," she said, but didn't explain why. She reached into her pocket and pulled something out. "And give her this." She tossed the thing into the air and Dean caught it. He looked up to ask what it was but Palari had gone. He looked back down at what he had caught. In his hand was a ling, thin chain, dangling off of which was a five pointed star within a circle.

"It's a pentagram," Dean thought aloud, squinting at it.

"Actually, it's a pentacle," Nora said. She'd been looking over Dean's shoulder. "A penta_gram_ is a five pointed star; a penta_cle_ is a five pointed star with a circle around it." She took the necklace from Dean and held it up to the light. "Janaya thought she'd lost this ages ago… the day Seth died, she woke up and it was missing. It was a little weird actually." She handed the necklace back to Dean who put it around his own neck for safe keeping. He looked at Nora, confused suddenly.

"Shouldn't this be silver?" he asked.

Nora shook her head. "It doesn't matter what it's made out of. It could be made out of string and it would still protect her, the point is the symbol. Janaya actually has a pentacle tattooed to her somewhere. It's just comforting to have the necklace."

Dean nodded his understanding then yawned. He glanced into the bedroom and saw that there were only two single beds. They were large but they were still only singles. He glanced around the room they were in currently then grabbed the comfy chair and dragged it into the bedroom and put it next to the bed that Janaya was in. He found a spare blanket in one of the cupboards and settled himself down. Sam and Nora shrugged before getting ready for bed themselves. Dean glanced at Janaya and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before drifting off to sleep.

OoOoOoO

Dean watched Janaya worriedly. Occasionally she would frown and arch her back or she would make a small pained nose but then she would fall still and her face would relax.

"Dude, have you eaten anything yet?" Sam asked as he came into the room after eating lunch himself. Dean shook his head and Sam sighed. "You can leave her side for a second, Dean. First of all, you're not going to do her any good by starving yourself."

"How do you know, it might help," Dean protested.

Sam shook his head and patted his older brother on the shoulder. "_Secondly_," he continued. "You heard what Palari said, she's going to be fine." Dean nodded but made no move to get up and eat something. Sam rolled his eyes. "Would it make you feel better if I watched her in the two minutes it will take you to get something to eat?"

Dean grumbled. "No, but you're not going to drop this are you?"

"Dean, she's been out for two nights and you haven't eaten anything in that time," Sam said firmly. "Get your ass into the kitchen and get something to eat, she's not going to do anything interesting while you're gone."

Dean sighed and reluctantly left his chair and began rummaging through the bags of food on the kitchen table. "Where'd all the food come from?" he asked as he bit down on a bagel.

"We knew you weren't going to leave the motel for a while so Nora bought it all," Sam explained. "Besides, Janaya might be hungry when she wakes up."

Dean nodded then looked around. "Where is Nora?" he asked, suddenly noticing her absence.

"Shower," Sam said and pulled something out of the bag that Dean hadn't looked through. He handed Dean one of the coffee cups and Dean smiled gratefully.

"You mean she didn't let you go with her?" Dean asked, his grateful smile turning into a cheeky grin.

Sam rolled his eyes. "You know," he started, "it never occurred to me."

Dean snorted. "Liar, I've seen the way you look at her. That kind of thing occurs to you all the time," he said, taking a sip of coffee.

Sam opened and closed his mouth a couple of times and Dean raised his eyebrows and laughed. "Yeah, well it's different than what you're thinking," Sam defended, flustered.

"Really," Dean said incredulously. "Explain to me how it's different to what I think?"

Sam frowned. "Okay, before you met Janaya, you looked at girls like they mean nothing more to you than a piece of ass," Sam began, trying to think of a way to explain his feelings for Nora. Dean nodded. It was a fair comment. "And that's how you think I look at Nora. But that's not how I see her, she's… smart and funny and pretty and just… not like anyone I've ever met so…" he stopped unsure of how to put his thoughts into words. "When I look at her I see this incredible woman and I think to myself how lucky I am to have her and then comes all the… love and the lust and… that's what you see when you see me look at Nora," he finished and looked at Dean questioningly, asking if it made sense.

Dean looked at him, stunned, then nodded. "I know how you feel, man," he said before heading back into the bedroom to watch over Janaya. Sam took a sip from his own coffee cup then started looking through the bags for something to eat.

"Haven't you already had lunch?" Nora asked, walking into the room and drying her hair with a towel.

Sam jumped and turned to face her. "You take short showers for a girl," he said, trying to hide his discomfort at being caught unawares.

Nora shrugged. "The shower was cold so I had to get out of it quickly," she explained, she hung the towel over the back of a chair and started looking through the bags of food herself. Sam just looked at her reaching over the table. At the way her top rode up slightly and bared the lower part of her ribs. At the way her light blonde hair was now dark because it was wet. He coughed slightly and looked away. He heard a snort of laughter and turned to the doorway to see Dean giving him an 'I told you so' look.

"What?" Nora asked, feeling left out.

"Nothing," Sam and Dean said quickly in unison.

OoOoOoO

Nora looked out the window to see what was making so much noise. "Oooooh!" she cried excitedly. "Fireworks!" Sam and Dean came to the window to see what she was looking at. "Why would they be setting off fireworks?" Nora asked.

"We probably arrived in time for some local holiday or something," Sam said. He looked at Nora who was still looking at the fireworks with a far way look on her face. "Do you want to go see them properly?" he asked and Nora's eyes lit up.

"Oh-my-god yes!" she said and ran away from the window to find her shoes.

Sam laughed then turned to Dean. "Do you want to come? It might be good for you to get out a bit," he said. Dean shook his head and went back to his seat next to Janaya's bed. "Okay," Sam said as Nora came bounding back over to him. "You're loss." He took Nora's hand in his and led her out of the motel room.

Dean sighed and looked at Janaya. She hadn't moved much since this morning, besides breathing, and he wasn't sure whether or not it was a good thing.

"You know, Janaya, you being all unconscious and stuff is kind of scary," he said. He didn't know if she could hear him or not but he needed to talk to her. "In Iowa when you… burned out, that was scary but this… this is worse," he paused and watched her breathe for a bit before continuing. "Your mom says that you'll be fine but I can't help asking myself 'what if she never wakes up? What if she never gets better?' you worry me, Jay and…" he stopped and stood up. Could he tell her he loved her? She probably couldn't even hear him… but what if she could? Did he even love her or did he just think he did? He closed his eyes and sighed. He hadn't been in a serious relationship for a while and he'd forgotten how confusing they were. He turned around and went to his bag so he could find a clean shirt to change into. He pulled off the one he was wearing and was about to pull the clean one on but stopped when he heard a sound from Janaya. He turned back to her to see what was wrong but she had fallen silent. He shrugged and was, again, about to pull the clean t-shirt on but was interrupted by a pained cry from Janaya. He dropped the shirt and turned back to her to find her writhing on the bed, gasping for breath and crying out in pain.

"Dean!" she cried, he stood dumbly and stared at her. Was she calling out for him in her sleep? Was she awake? Did she know he was there? When he didn't move towards her, she cried out again, this time just in pain and she started crying. "Dean!" she sobbed and this time he rushed to her side. He grabbed her hand and stroked her face gently.

"It's okay, I'm here," he whispered. She gripped his hand hard as her body spasmed. She cried out again and Dean didn't know what to do. Tears of pain were running down Janaya's cheeks and the crying didn't help her breathing issues.

"Dean," she choked, her voice so quiet he could barely hear her. He had no idea what he was supposed to do so he did the only thing he could think to do. He slid into the bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her. Her body spasmed again and she gasped for air. He let go of her so she could breathe and she relaxed a little. He wrapped his arms around her again and whispered into her hair anything he thought might comfort her. He held her until she completely relaxed and was simply sleeping and even then he couldn't let go of her and fell asleep, his arms around her and his breathing in time with hers.

OoOoOoO

Sam and Nora opened the door to the motel room slowly, aware that Dean might be sleeping. They walked quietly over to the bedroom and stopped at the doorway. They looked at Dean and Janaya lying together and smiled.

"Dean really loves Janaya doesn't he?" Nora whispered to Sam who nodded and moved through to the kitchen where they could talk without disturbing Dean.

"I don't know if he even knows it yet, but he definitely does," Sam confirmed.

There was a small silence then, "My cat's breath smells like cat food," Nora said, putting on a strange, high pitched voice. Sam looked at her strangely then realised she was quoting _The Simpsons_.

He laughed and pulled Nora into a hug and held her tightly. "How did I ever survive without you?" he asked.

"Very badly, no doubt," Nora laughed, looking up at him from her place against his chest. He leaned down and kissed her softly. "See? You agree with me."

Sam smiled and kissed her again. "I love you, you know," he whispered into her lips. She smiled and kissed him back.

"I love you too."

OoOoOoO

Jenny sat alone in the middle of the room with no light except for the one lamp on the floor beside her. She rummaged through a box, looking at pictures of her husband and trying to cry quietly. She didn't want to wake Sarry with her silly reminiscence. She stared at a picture of them on their wedding day and jumped when she heard Sarry's voice.

"Mommy?" Sarry asked quietly.

"Hey sweetie," Jenny said, quickly trying to cover her tears. "Why aren't you in bed?"

Sarry looked down at the ground then up again. "There's something in my closet," she said.

Jenny sighed and stood up, following Sarry to her room. Sarry climbed onto her bed while Jenny the closet doors wide. She walked in and had a quick look around the large closet.

"See, nothing there," she said, smiling brightly.

"Are you sure?" Sarry asked, wanting to make sure.

"I'm sure," Jenny assured her daughter. "Now come on, in to bed."

Sarry climbed under the covers of her bed and looked at her mother for a moment before inhaling deeply. "I don't like this house," she said.

Jenny smiled wanly." You're just not used to it yet," she told her. "But you and your brother and me, we are going to be very happy here. I promise." Jenny kissed Sarry's forehead, "I love you." She reached over and turned the light off then stood up and made to leave the room." The chair," Sarry reminded her.

Jenny turned around quickly. "Okay," she breathed. "The chair." She moved the chair in front of the wardrobe doors so they wouldn't open. "Just to be safe."

Sarry snuggled down into her bed and Jenny left the room and went back to her photographs.

Sarry woke up suddenly. She hadn't been asleep for long, at least that's how she felt. She heard a noise and sat up quickly in time to see the chair in front of the closet move out of the way of the door. She moved backwards until she was backed against the bed-head. The closet doors slowly opened with a creak and Sarry tried very hard not to cry. She hugged her knees to her chest as she stared at her closet in terror. A flaming figure stepped out of her closet and into her bedroom. Finally, Sarry couldn't take it anymore. She hugged her knees tighter and screamed as hard as she could.

OoOoOoO

Janaya jolted awake and sat up gasping for breath. She looked around her and didn't recognise where she was and started panicking.

"Jay!" Dean said, surprised to wake up to see Janaya awake. "Hey, calm down. It's okay…" he slid his arms around her and whispered in her ear until she calmed down. She turned around to look at him and he let go of her to make it easier. She threw her arms around his neck and seemed to finally catch her breath. She pulled back to see Dean frowning at her in worry.

"Are you okay?" he asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. She nodded and looked at him closely. There was something different about him. She lifted a hand to his face and gently stroked his jaw.

"You shaved," she said, using both hands to feel his newly shaven face. "It feels nice." Dean smiled, making Janaya do the same. "You should smile more," she said sleepily. "It's much nicer." Dean laughed and kissed her lightly. "You should do that more too," she said, kissing him back.

"Ugh, typical," Nora mumbled as she slowly rose from her bed. "Trust you to be making out with your boyfriend after waking up from an almost coma."

Janaya laughed and pulled away from Dean. Then she frowned in confusion, coma? What was Nora talking about?

"Well, now that you're up, we can start looking for somewhere else to go," Dean said. He looked to Sam who had just jolted awake and was looking around, confused. "Can I use your computer?"

Sam nodded and blinked a few times before climbing over Nora and getting out of bed. Dean slid out of the other side of the bed and he and Sam left the bedroom. Janaya and Nora looked at each other.

"What do you mean 'almost coma'?" Janaya asked, frowning slightly, knowing she wasn't going to like the answer.

Nora sighed; she also knew that Janaya wasn't going to like the answer. "A few days ago, you collapsed… because… Palari stripped you of your powers," she finished quickly.

"She what?" Janaya asked quietly.

"Hey, she took mine too," Nora pointed out, yawning. "If she hadn't, we would be attacked and killed, it's for the best."

"She took my powers?" Janaya asked, her voice all squeaky with quiet hysteria. "But I like my powers, I need them." Nora sighed and swung her legs over the side of the bed, standing up and stretching. She yawned loudly then went to find her bag to get some clothes to change into. She found Janaya's bag and chucked it onto Janaya's bed.

"Get dressed, Jay, you've been wearing the same clothes for, like, three days," she said before grabbing clothes out of her bag and going into the bathroom to have a shower. Janaya sighed loudly before climbing out of bed herself and prep0aring for her turn in the shower.

OoOoOoO

Dean sat at the table, Sam's laptop in front of him. Every now and then he would click but otherwise the room was silent. Sam sat on the other side of the room, doodling on a few pieces of paper. Nora was in the bedroom finishing getting dressed and Janaya was in the shower.

"All right," Dean said, looking up from the laptop at Sam. "I've been cruising some websites and I think I found some candidates for our next gig." He looked back at the laptop briefly to check his list. "A fishing trawler off the coast of Cali, its crew vanished. And, uh, we got some cattle mutilations in west Texas. Hey!" Dena said loudly, noticing that Sam wasn't paying attention. "Am I boring you with this hunting evil stuff?"

Sam looked up with a slightly bemused look on his face. "No, I'm listening keep going," he said before turning back to the paper he was doodling on.

Dean sighed and turned back to the laptop. "And here, a Sacramento man shot himself in the head… three times." Sam still wasn't paying attention and Dean frowned in frustration. "Any of these blowing up your skirt, pal?" he asked.

Sam flicked through his little note book and frowned then stood up. "Wait a minute, I've seen this before," he muttered. He left the room and came back with his father's journal. He opened it up and pulled out a photo of a blonde woman holding a baby standing next to a man who was hugging a four year old boy. All of them standing in front of a large white house and a dead tree. On the back it said it was the Winchester family.

"Dean I know where we have to go next," Sam said urgently.

"Where?" Dean asked.

"Back home, back to Kansas."

"Okay random," Dean said trying to laugh. "Where'd that come from?"

"Uh, this picture was taken in front of our old house, right?" Sam asked, showing Dean the picture. "The house where Mom died?"

"Yeah," Dena said cautiously.

"And it didn't burn down right? I mean not completely right? They rebuilt it."

"I guess so yeah," Dean said, getting confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Okay," Sam said, sitting down opposite Dean. "This is going to sound crazy but, the people who live in our old house; I think they might be in danger."

Dean frowned. "Why would you think that?"

Sam hesitated. "Uh… you just… you just gotta trust me on this one okay?" he said.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, trust you?" Dean asked. "Come on, man, that's weak you gotta give me more than that."

"I just can't really explain it, is all," Sam said, rummaging through a bag.

"Well tough!" Dean said. "I'm not going anywhere until you do."

Sam sighed. "I have these nightmares," he started.

Dean nodded. "I've noticed."

"And sometimes… they come true," he finished.

Dean laughed slightly. "Come again?"

Sam looked at the ground then back up at Dean. "Look, Dean, I dreamt about Jessica's death for days before it happened."

Dean shook his head. "Sam, sometimes people have weird dreams, I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

"No, I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything and I didn't do anything about it 'cause I didn't believe it. And now I'm dreaming about that tree, about our house and about some woman inside screaming for help. I mean, this is where it all started, man, this has to mean something, right?"

"I don't know," Dean said, shaking his head.

"What do you mean, you don't know, Dean? This, this woman might be in danger! I mean, this might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica!"

"All right just slow down would you?" Dean said, standing up and pacing the room. "I mean, first you tell me that you've got the _shining_? And then you tell me that I've gotta go back home? Especially when…"

"When what?" Sam prompted.

"When I swore to myself that I would never go back there."

"Look," Sam said, standing up also. "Dean, we have to check this out, just to make sure."

Dean looked at Sam and nodded. "I know we do."

OoOoOoO

The Chevy pulled up in front of a large white house.

"So where are we?" Nora asked, pulling her seatbelt off slowly.

Dean sighed. "Home," he said.

"Are you going to be alright, man?" Sam asked.

"Let me get back to you on that," Dean said as Sam climbed out of the car. The girls followed suit and eventually he too got out of the car. They walked up to the front door and Sam knocked, Dean standing beside him and the girls behind them. Slowly, the door opened and a pretty blonde woman appeared. Sam's eyes widened with recognition.

"Yes?" she asked, looking at them confused.

"Sorry to bother you, ma'am," Dean said. "But we're with the Federal-"

"My name is Sam Winchester, and this is my brother Dean," Sam interrupted. "These are our girlfriends, Nora and Janaya. Dean and I used to live here. We were, we were just driving by and we were wondering if we could come and see the old place?"

The woman frowned. "Winchester," she said quietly. "Yeah that's so funny, you know, I think I found some of your old photos the other night."

"You did?" Dean asked, frowning.

The woman looked around and then smiled at them. "Okay, come on in. I'm Jenny"

They followed Jenny into her home and looked around them. The hallway was kind of dark but the kitchen they walked into was full of light. There was a little girl sitting at the kitchen table, drawing. And a little boy jumping up and down in his play pen, repeating the word 'juice' over and over again.

"That's Richie," Jenny said, pointing to the little boy and heading over to the fridge. "He's kind of a juice junkie." She pulled a small sippie-cup of juice out of the fridge and gave it to the little boy. "But hey, at least he won't get scurvy."

Jenny walked over to the table. "Sarry, this is Sam and Dean, they used to live here. And with them is there girlfriends, Nora and Janaya," Jenny said to the girl, pointing at each of them in turn.

"Hi, Sarry," Sam said, smiling kindly.

"Hi," Sarry said shyly back.

"So you just moved in?" Dean asked Jenny, smiling.

"Uh, yeah. From Wichita," she said.

"Have you got family here or…?" Dean trailed off and Jenny hesitated to answer. Janaya looked at Jenny for a moment then resumed looking around the kitchen.

"No, I just… uh, you know, needed a fresh start, that's all," she said. "So, new town, new job, I mean as soon as I find one, and a new house."

"How're you liking it so far?" Janaya asked, it was the first thing she'd said since they'd got there.

Jenny looked at Janaya for a moment then at the boys. She moved over to the sink and started cleaning. "Well, with all due respect to you're family home," she began, directing her comment to Sam and Dean. "I'm sure you have many happy memories here, but this place has its issues."

Sam frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jenny turned back around to face them properly. "Um, it's just getting old. Like the wiring, you know, we have flickering lights almost hourly."

Dean smiled kindly but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Oh that's too bad, what else?"

"Um, the sinks backed up, there's rats in the basement," she paused and looked at them. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to complain."

Dean shook his head. "No, it's okay. Have you actually seen the rats or have you just heard scratching?"

Jenny looked sheepish. "It's just the scratching actually."

"Mom?" Sarry said quietly. Jenny moved over to Sarry and knelt down beside her. "Ask them if it was here when they lived here."

Janaya and Nora looked at each other and then both turned to Sam and Dean. "What Sarry?" Sam asked.

"The thing in my closet," she said, looking down at the table.

Jenny smiled. "Oh no, baby, there was nothing in their closets," she said, trying to be comforting. "Right?" she asked, turning to Sam and Dean.

"No," they said at the same time. "Of course not," Sam finished.

"She had a nightmare the other night," Jenny said.

"I wasn't dreaming," Sarry said loudly. "It came into my bedroom and it was on fire." Sarry turned to Sam, Dean and the girls. Nora and Janaya looked at Sam and Dean who were looking at each other.

OoOoOoO

"Do you here that? A figure on fire!" Sam said.

"And that woman Jenny, that was the woman in your dreams?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, and did you hear what she was talking about? Scratching, flickering lights, both signs of a malevolent spirit."

"Yeah well I'm just freaked out that your weirdo visions are coming true," Dean said.

"Well forget about that for a minute," Sam said, frustrated. "The thing in the house, do you think it's the thing that killed Mom and Jessica?"

Janaya and Nora stopped moving. "Hold up, what?" Nora asked.

Sam and Dean turned around to face the girls and looked down. "There's something we've been hunting for a long time and Sam thinks we may have found it," Dean explained.

Janaya nodded slowly. "And this thing killed your Mum and this… Jessica, who is your ex?" Janaya pointed to Sam who nodded. "How?" she demanded.

"They were on the ceiling, their abdomens cut open and then the ceiling caught fire," Sam said. "Like your parents," he said to Nora.

Nora frowned. "So the thing that's in their house might be the thing that killed my parents?" she asked, both the Winchester brothers nodded. "And you didn't tell me this because…?"

The brothers looked at each other. "Well, we uh…" Sam tried.

"You think you're the only ones that want revenge?" Nora asked angrily.

"No, Nora we just weren't sure, we're still not and we didn't want to… get your hopes up," Sam said.

Dean stepped back. "What's this we? I didn't tell because she's _you're_ girlfriend, not mine."

"And you didn't tell _me_ because…?" Janaya asked.

"Because it slipped my mind," he said.

Janaya shrugged, "Fair enough."

"So do you think it could be it?" Sam asked Dean again.

"I don't know," Dean said, starting towards the car again.

"I mean, why has it come back?" Sam asked.

"Or maybe it's something else entirely, Sam, we don't know yet!" Dean argued, stopping again.

Sam shook his head. "These people are in danger, Dean; we gotta get them outta that house!"

"And we will." He headed towards the car again and Janaya and Nora rolled their eyes and gave each other a look that said _brothers!_

"No I mean now," Sam pressed.

"And how're you gonna do that, Sam. You got a story she's going to believe?"

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

OoOoOoO

"We just gotta chill out that's all," Dean said as he filled the Chevy with gas. Janaya and Nora had gone into the gas station to buy some food and pay for the gas. "You know, if this was any other kind of job what would we do?"

Sam thought for a moment then breathed deeply. "We'd try to figure out what we're dealing with, we'd dig into the history of the house."

"Exactly," Dean agreed. "'Cept this time we already know what happened."

"Yeah but, how much do we know?" Sam asked. "I mean, how much do you actually remember?"

"About that night you mean?" Dean asked. Sam nodded and Dean sighed. "Not much. I remember the fire, the heat and then I carried you out the front door."

Sam looked up at Dean in surprise. "You did?"

Dean looked back at Sam. "Yeah, what, you never knew that?"

Sam shook his head. "No."

Dean looked passed him for a moment then continued. "Then, well, you know dad's story as well as I do. Mom was… was on the ceiling. And whatever put her there was long gone by the time dad found her."

"And he never had a theory about what did it?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "If he did, he kept it to himself. God knows we asked him enough times."

Sam sighed. "Okay, so if we're gonna figure out what's going on now, we have to figure out what happened back then and see if it's the same thing."

"Yeah. Talk to Dad's friends, neighbours, people who were there at the time," Dean agreed.

Sam sighed and shook his head. "Does this feel like just another job to you?"

Dean stayed silent for a moment then, "I'll be right back; I gotta go to the bathroom." Dean left and Sam was left leaning against the Chevy alone.

Nora and Janaya came back just in time to see Dean leave so Nora joined Sam on the Chevy and Janaya followed Dean.

He didn't go into the restroom; instead he stood outside it and pulled out his cellphone. Janaya watched him dial a number and heard the faint sound of an answering message.

"Dad?" Dean said into the phone after the answer tone. "I know I've left you messages before, I don't even know if you get 'em." He stopped for a bit and looked around, making Janaya duck behind the wall so he wouldn't see her. "But, I'm with Sam and, we're in Lawrence and there's something in our old house. I don't know if it's the thing that killed Mom or not but…I don't know what to do." Janaya could hear the strain in his voice as he tried to keep his tears in check. "So, whatever you do, if you could get here. Please. I need you're help Dad." He stopped and closed his cellphone. He walked back towards the car and almost walked into Janaya. "Shit, you scared the hell out of me," he said, his voice still strained from keeping from crying.

Janaya looked at him, his eyes red from holding back tears and his lower lip trembling, and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and wrapped his arms around her waist but did not allow himself to cry. They stood like that for a while then Dean pulled back and smiled at her, his face showing no signs of the emotion before hand.

"You alright?" Janaya asked, slowly letting him go.

"Yeah I'm fine I was just… you know, those damn telemarketers, they're following me everywhere, I guess I just couldn't take it anymore." He laughed and went back to the Chevy where Sam and Nora were laughing. Janaya shook her head.

"What, do I have to be unconscious before he'll open up to me?" she muttered before joining the others.

OoOoOoO

"So you and John Winchester, you used to own this garage together?" Dean asked the older man leading them through the garage.

"Yeah we used to," the man said, almost laughing. "A long time ago… matter of fact, it's about twenty years ago since John disappeared, why are the cops interested all of a sudden?"

"Oh, we're opening some of our unsolved cases and the Winchester disappearance is one of them," Dean explained, glancing at Sam.

"Uh huh," the man said. "Well, what do you want to know about John?"

"Whatever you remember, you know, whatever sticks out in your mind," Dean encouraged.

The man sighed as he tried to remember John Winchester. "He was a stubborn bastard I can tell you that. And, uh, whatever the game, you know, he hated to lose; it was that old, ex-marine thing." The boys nodded and smiled as the man went on. "But, oh, he loved Mary and he doted on those boys."

"But that was before the fire," Sam interrupted. "He ever talk about that night?"

The man shook his head. "No, not at first. I think he was in shock."

"Right, but, eventually? What did he say about it?" Sam pressed.

The man shook his head. "He wasn't thinking straight. He said, he said something caused that fire and killed Mary."

"He ever say what did it?" Dean asked.

"Nothing did it," the man said, looking at Dean like he was crazy. "It was an accident. An electrical short in the ceiling or walls or something." The man shook his head again. "I begged him to get some help but, uh…"

"But what?" Dean prompted.

"Oh, he just got worse and worse," the man said, making Dean frown.

"How?" he asked.

"Oh, he started reading these strange old books and started going to see this palm-reader in town."

"Palm-reader?" Dean asked, patting his pockets looking for a pen and paper. "Do you have a name for this palm reader?"

"No," the man said and Sam and Dean looked at each other before thanking the man for his time and leaving.

"So what did you find out?" Janaya asked, as they got back in the car and drove off.

"Dad used to visit a palm-reader before he left Lawrence," Sam said. "We need to find out who it was."

"Check the phonebook," Nora said, shrugging. "There's bound to be a list of psychics and palm-readers there."

Sam grinned at Nora. "You're brilliant!" he said then began looking for phone booths.

"I know," Nora said happily.

"Eugh, gag me with a spoon," Dean and Janaya said in almost perfect unison. They looked at each other for a second before Dean had to return his eyes to the road.

"That was just weird," the both muttered but neither could here the other.

OoOoOoO

"Okay so there are a few psychics and palm-readers in town," Sam said, frowning at a page in a phone book he'd found. "There's someone named Al Devino, there's the Mysterious Mr Fortensky," he laughed and looked at the others faces, none of them showing any signs that they agreed it was funny or that they recognised it. "Uh, Missouri Mosely, some guy -"

"Wait, wait, Missouri Mosely?" Dean asked.

"What?" Sam asked.

"That's a psychic?"

"Uh, yeah," Sam answered. "I guess so."

Dean walked around to the other side of the car and pulled out the leather bound journal. "In Dad's journal," he said, opening it up. "Here look at this. First page, first sentence, read it."

"'I went to Missouri and I learned the truth'" Sam read aloud. He looked back up at Dean who shrugged.

"I always thought he meant the state."

Janaya popped up between them and took the journal out of Sam's hands. "What's this?" she asked.

"It's our dad's journal, everything he knows about every evil thing is in that book," Dean explained, carefully taking it off her.

"Huh," Janaya said, staring thoughtfully at the concrete. "My dad had a journal very similar to that."

Sam and Dean looked at her strangely. "You're dad was a hunter?" Dean asked.

Janaya shrugged. "I have no idea. I got my hands on it one day and read some of it. It was filled with information on demons, spirits, and various evil creatures. My dad caught me and yelled at me for, like, an hour. I think they were trying to keep me as normal as possible. My brother and sister have no idea about Mum's power and none of us kids new where Dad went on his business trips. I guess it all makes sense now."

"Huh," Sam and Dean said in unison.

OoOoOoO

Sam, Dean, Nora and Janaya sat in an alcove just off to the side of a hallway leading to the front door of Missouri Mosely's house. Missouri lead a bald man to the door and smiled at him.

"Don't worry about it; your wife loves you," she said reassuringly. The man smiled and thanked her before leaving the house. She shut the door behind him and looked at the group of four in her alcove.

"Poor bastard," she said, nodding her head towards the door the man had just walked out of. "His woman is cold-banging the gardener." She walked past them and towards her living room.

Dean suppressed a laugh. "Why didn't you tell him?" he asked.

Missouri turned back to face him. "People don't come here for the truth; they come here for good news."

Sam and Dean sat stunned in their seats whereas Janaya and Nora got up to follow Missouri. Missouri turned around to look at the boys.

"Well?" she asked. "Sam and Dean come on already, I ain't got all day," she said and gestured for them to follow her.

She took them into a living room with beaded curtains pulled back from the doorway. She turned around to face them. "Well, let me look at you," she said smiling. "Oh, you boys grew up handsome," she said laughing. "And you were one goofy looking kid too." She pointed to Dean who gave her an insulted look. Sam on the other hand grinned broadly. Missouri turned her attention to the girls. "My, you boys picked some powerful girls to hang out with; I wouldn't get on the wrong side of either of them if I were you." Nora and Janaya looked at each other. They didn't understand. They'd had most of their power stripped, how could they be powerful?

Missouri stepped forwards and took Sam's hand. Her smile disappeared immediately. "Oh, honey. I'm sorry about Jessica. And your father, he's missing?"

Sam looked at Dean then back at Missouri, frowning. "How'd you know all that?" he asked.

"Well, you were just thinking it just now," she said.

"Well where is he, is he okay?" Dean asked impatiently.

Missouri looked at him then frowned. "I don't know," she admitted.

"Don't know?" Dean asked, frowning. "You're supposed to be a psychic right?"

"Oh dear," Janaya muttered to Nora who tried to restrain her laughter at the look Missouri gave Dean.

"Boy, you see me sawing some… bony tramp on half? You think I'm a magician?" she asked. "I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room but I can't pull facts outta thin air!" Dean looked much chastised as he glanced at Sam for help who simply grinned some more. "Now sit. Please." Missouri finished.

They moved further into the living room and sat on the couch on one side of a coffee table and Missouri sat and a chair on the other side.

"Boy, you put yo' foot on my coffee table I'ma whack you with a spoon!" Missouri said as Dean leant back slightly.

"I didn't do anything!" Dean defended, a small, confused frown on his face.

"Well you were thinking about it."

Janaya and Nora stifled snorts of laughter and when Dean looked at them, they stopped immediately, only to continue when he'd looked away.

"Okay, so," Sam began after finally stopping his own silent laughter. "Our dad; when did you first meet him?"

"He came for a reading," Missouri answered. "A few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark. I guess you could say, I drew back the curtains for him."

"What about the fire?" Dean asked. "Do you know about what killed our mom?"

"A little," Missouri admitted and Nora leaned forward slightly. "Your daddy took me to your house. He was hoping I could sense the… echoes, fingerprints of this thing."

"And could you?" Sam asked hopefully.

"I don't…" Missouri said, shaking her head slightly.

"What was it?" Sam pressed.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Oh, but it was evil."

Nora frowned that sounded familiar.

"Sam, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, standing up and walking out of the room. Sam frowned slightly but obediently got up to follow her.

"What's the matter?" he asked, still frowning.

"Sam, just think for a minute, what else have we heard of recently that was pure evil?" Nora said.

Sam frowned thoughtfully then looked at Nora closely. "That thing that went after Palari?" he asked. Nora nodded and his eyes widened. "You think they could be the same thing? What killed my mom and your parents and what's looking for you?"

Nora shrugged. "Why not? I mean, there's no such thing as coincidences, right?"

Sam thought for a moment. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind." They were about to walk back into the living room and nearly walked into Dean, Janaya and Missouri on their way out.

"I think we should show Missouri the house, may be she could feel whatever's there," Janaya said.

Sam nodded in agreement and they headed to the Chevy.

OoOoOoO

Jenny answered the door almost immediately and frowned at them. "Sam, Dean, girls, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Hey, Jenny," Sam greeted. "This is our friend Missouri." Missouri stepped into view, smiling brightly.

"We were hoping we could show the place," Dean said. "You know, for old time's sake."

"Actually, now isn't a good time," Jenny said. "I'm kinda busy." She turned to go back into her house and Dean stepped forward.

"Listen Jenny, this is important – ow!" he stopped suddenly as Missouri slapped him in the back of the head.

"Give the poor girl a break," she scolded. "Can't you see she's upset?" She turned her attention to Jenny. "Forgive this boy, he means well, he's just not the sharpest tool in the shed. But here me out."

"About what?" Jenny asked, clutch Richie to her protectively.

"About this house."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about," Missouri said. "You think there's something in this house. Something that wants to hurt your family. Am I mistaken?"

"Who are you?" Jenny asked, slightly frightened at how well Missouri could read her thoughts.

"We're people who can help, who can stop this thing. But you're gonna have to trust us, just a little."

OoOoOoO

Missouri walked into a room in the upstairs part of the house. "There's a dark energy around here and this room should be the centre of it," she said as the others followed her in.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"This used to be your nursery, Sam," Missouri said, turning her head slightly so she could see him out of the corner of her eye. "This is where it all happened."

Sam looked around the room, staring at the ceiling for a while then looking back down. Dean pulled out some kind of electronic device and turned it on. Nora frowned and turned to Janaya.

"Something doesn't feel right in this room," she said quietly. Janaya shrugged. She couldn't feel anything but then again, her mother had stripped her of her powers. Silently she cursed her mother then stopped suddenly when she realised she could probably hear her.

"Is that an EMF?" Missouri asked, nodding to the device in Dean's hand. Her own hand was hovering above the objects in the room.

"Yeah," Dean said, not bothering to look up.

"Amateur," Missouri muttered, making Dean look up and glare at her.

The EMF lit up and started making strange noises. Janaya glared at it. She hated things that made annoying noises. Missouri stopped and frowned.

"I don't know if you should be disappointed or relieved," she said. "But this ain't the thing that took your mom. Or you're parents." She nodded in Nora's direction.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked, hoping she was wrong but Missouri nodded. "How do you know?"

"It isn't the same energy I felt the last time I was here. It's something different," she explained.

"What is it?" Dean asked as Missouri went to the closet and opened the doors wide.

"Not it, _them_," she corrected. "There's more that one spirit in this place."

"What are they doing here?" Dean asked.

Missouri walked away from the closet and back to them. "They're here because of what happened to your family," Missouri said. "You see, all those years ago, real evil came to you. It walked this house. That kind of evil leaves wounds, and sometimes wounds get infected."

"Sam shook his head. "I don't understand."

Missouri sighed. "This place is a magnet for paranormal energy," she explained. "It's attracted a poltergeist. A nasty one. And it won't rest until Jenny and her babies are dead."

"Man, I'm glad my house burnt down entirely," Nora muttered, thinking of all the trouble it would cause if her old house was haunted by a poltergeist.

"You said there was more than one spirit," Sam said bringing everyone back on topic.

"There is," Missouri said, heading back to the closet and walking in. "I just can't quite make out the second one."

Dean glared at nothing in particular. "Well one thing's for damn sure. No one's dying in this house, ever again." He turned to Missouri. "So whatever's in here, how do we stop it?"

OoOoOoO

Dean finished tying a small bag closed and tossed it the side, pulling another square piece of material in front of him. He dipped his hand into a jar and started sprinkling what was in it on to the material.

"So what is all this stuff anyway?" he asked.

"Angelica root, vervain oil, crossroad dirt, a few other odds and ends," Missouri answered. Janaya looked at the jars on the table and also recognised birch, myrrh and rosemary.

"Yeah, what are we supposed to do with it?" Dean asked, frowning in concentration as he prepared the next bag.

"We're gonna put them inside the walls," Missouri explained. "In the north, south, east corners on each floor of the house."

"Punching holes in the dry wall, Jenny's gonna love that," Dean said, looking at Sam.

"She'll live," Missouri retorted, sitting down opposite Dean and making another bag.

"And this will destroy the spirits?" Sam asked.

"It should," Missouri answered truthfully. "It should purify the house completely." Missouri looked at each of the four. "We'll split into three groups and each group will take a floor," she said as Dean tried tasting one of the dried plants from the jars. He didn't like it. "But we work fast. Once the spirits realise what we're up to, things are gonna get bad."

OoOoOoO

Missouri lead Jenny and her kids out of the house.

"You know, I'm not really sure I'm comfortable leaving you guys alone in the house," Jenny said, taking Sarry's hand.

"Just take your kids the movies or something and it'll be all over by the time you get back," Missouri reassured her. Jenny hesitated then nodded, leading her children down the street and away from the house. Missouri watched them go the headed back into the house to help the others.

Sam and Nora went into Jenny's room and Sam started lightly knocking on the wall with the butt of his hammer. Nora handed him the bag and he turned the hammer around and gently hammered at the wall trying to make a hole.

Janaya and Dean were in the kitchen and Dean was already heading over to the far side of the kitchen where he needed to put the bag. Janaya looked around the kitchen; it was _Final Destination_ just waiting to happen. She sighed and handed the bag to Dean to started banging on the wall with a small axe.

Missouri was in the basement by herself, in the dark, slowly moving towards where she needed to put the bag. There was already a hole in the wall close to where she needed it so she slipped the bag in, not noticing the large, wooden chest that came sliding at her, slamming her against the wall.

Janaya heard a strange sound and turned around to see several floating knives pointed at her and Dean.

"Dean!" she cried in warning and dropped to the ground. Dean turned around and moved his head to the side just in time and the knife passed him, hitting the wall. He dropped to the ground too and flipped the table on its side making a shield for him and Janaya to hide behind. Janaya had barely got behind it when the knives pounded into it and came a little bit of the way through the other side.

Nora was examining the en suit bathroom while Sam finally hammered a hole in the wall. She heard a crash in the bedroom and ran back in to see Sam being strangled by a lamp cord.

"Sam!" she cried worriedly and tried to pull it off his neck. When she tried to grab the bag and put it in the hole in the wall, the lamp leapt into the air and knocked her out.

Dean and Janaya ran into the room after having escaped the sharp kitchen instruments. Dean ran over to Sam and also tried to pull the cord off his neck. Janaya ran to Nora's side and lifted her head into her lap, examining the large bump on the side of it from where the lamp had hit her. Dean looked from the hole in the wall to the bag on the floor and reluctantly let go of the cord around Sam's neck, grabbing the bag and chucking it in the hole. There was a blinding flash of light and the lamp cord loosened its grip on Sam's neck. Dean lifted Sam up and unwrapped the cord from around his neck, hugging him protectively. Nora moaned and rubbed her head gently.

"Is Sam okay?" she asked slowly. Janaya nodded and Nora let herself fall back into Janaya's lap.

OoOoOoO

Everybody stood in the kitchen examining the mess that had been made. They heard the front door open and Sam turned to Missouri. "You sure this is over?" he asked, frowning.

Missouri thought for a moment then nodded. "I'm sure," she said. "Why? Why do you ask?"

"Never mind," Sam said, shaking his head. "It's nothing I guess."

The lights turned on in the hall way as Jenny and the kids came into the room. Jenny looked at the mess in her kitchen and gasped. "What happened?" she asked.

"Hi, sorry," Sam said, looking guilty. "We'll… we'll pay for all of this," he promised and Dean gave him a strange look.

"Don't you worry, Dean's gonna clean up this mess," she said. Dean frowned at her and she turned to him. "Well what are you waiting for boy? Get the mop!"

Janaya smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll help you," she said as Dean glared at Missouri's back.

"And don't cuss at me!" she yelled after him.

OoOoOoO

After having cleaned up the house, Dean, Sam, Janaya, Nora and Missouri left the house. But something was troubling Sam so Missouri went home alone, and the other's stayed in the Chevy parked outside Jenny's house.

"So tell me again, what are we still doing here?" Dean asked.

"I dunno," Sam admitted. "I just… I still have a bad feeling."

"Why? Missouri did her whole Zelda Rubenstein thing the house should be clean, this should be over," Dena complained.

"Yeah, well, probably. I just want to make sure, that's all."

"Problem is I could be sleeping in a bed right now," Dean said leaning back in his seat.

Janaya snorted. "'Cause _sleeping_ in the bed is so what you want to be doing," Janaya said sarcastically earning a small glare from Dean, and then a shrug telling her she was right.

Sam rolled his eyes and looked back at the house. A movement caught his eye and he found himself looking at Jenny's bedroom window. Jenny was at the window, pounding on it and screaming for help.

"Dean!" Sam yelled frantically, quickly climbing out of the car. Dean followed him equally as quickly and the girls were behind them.

"You guys get the kids, I'll get Jenny!" Dean yelled as they ran into the house.

Sam and Nora ran into Richie's room while Janaya continued on into Sarry's room. Nora lowered the side of Richie's crib and Sam grabbed him, running quickly out of the room.

Janaya stopped suddenly at Sarry's doorway. At the foot of Sarry's bed was a flaming figure and Sarry sat huddled at the front of her bed, crying. Janaya quickly stepped as far away as possible from the flaming figure and grabbed Sarry, lifting her into her arms and running from the room. Janaya ran into Sam and Nora as she fled the house. They ran towards the front door and Sam stopped suddenly. He passed Riche to Nora and told them to get out of the house as fast as they could.

"What? No!" Nora yelled, holding tightly to the young boy in her arms. "What are you going to do?"

Sam shrugged then was pulled to the ground and dragged off. "Sam!" Nora cried and tried to go after him

"Go!" he yelled before disappearing. Janaya grabbed Nora's arm and they ran out of the house, allowing the children to run from their arms and to their mother.

"Where's Sam?" Dean asked frantically.

"He's inside," Nora answered.

"Something's got him," Sarry added. Dean looked back at the house and watched the front door slam closed.

Dean grabbed a shotgun, some rock salt and an axe from the boot of the Chevy and ran towards the house. He tried to kick the door down and when that didn't work; he tried to cut through it with the axe. Growling with frustration, Janaya ran up to the front of the house. Breathing in sharply, she punched through a window, causing Dean to look at her. She took the axe off him, ignoring the blood trickling down her arm, and widened the hole so they could comfortably climb through without getting cut. Janaya started to climb through but Dean stopped her. "I'm not going to risk losing you too," he said and climbed in the house leaving Janaya standing outside with no idea what to do.

Dean reached the kitchen where Sam was pinned to a wall by some telekinetic energy and the flaming figure was walking towards him. Angrily, Dean raised his shot gun and was about to fire when Sam stopped him.

"No don't!" he cried.

"What? Why?" Dean asked, not taking his eyes off the fiery ghost moving towards him.

"Because I know who it is," Sam said. "I can see her now." The flaming figure stopped moving and the flames slowly disappeared revealing a beautiful blonde woman wearing a long white dress.

Dean shakily lowered the gun as the woman smiled at him. "Mom?" he asked quietly.

The woman walked towards him and gave him a proud smile. "Dean," she replied then moved towards Sam, Dean unable to take his eyes off her.

"Sam," she said, giving Sam a sad smile. "I'm sorry."

Sam frowned. "For what?" he asked. Their mother stopped smiling and turned away from them, walking back the way she came.

"You get out of my house," she said to the ceiling. "I let go of my son." She disappeared in a burst of flames while her sons could only watch while their mother left them again. Whatever had been holding Sam against the wall left too and Sam stepped away from the wall. Dean looked around the room as if waiting for the woman to come back.

Sam sighed with relief. "Now it's over," he said, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

OoOoOoO

Dean and Janaya looked through the photos in the box Jenny had found in her basement a few nights before. Janaya grinned when she saw a picture of little Dean holding baby Sam.

"Thanks for these," Dean said, watching Janaya's reactions.

"Don't thank me they're yours," Jenny said, smiling. Dean took the photos off Janaya and put them back in the box, closed the lid and put it in the back of the car.

Missouri, Sam and Nora walked out of Jenny's house and smiled.

"There are no spirits left in that house, this time for sure!" Missouri said happily.

"Not even my mom?" Sam asked, slightly teary eyed. Nora rubbed his shoulder comfortingly but stayed silent.

"No," Missouri said, smiling sadly at Sam.

"What happened?" Sam asked, taking Nora's hand that was against his shoulder and squeezing it gently.

"Your' mom's spirit and the poltergeist's energy, they cancelled each other out," Missouri explained. "Your mom destroyed herself going after the thing."

"Why would she so something like that?" Sam asked, confused.

"Well, to protect her boys of course," Missouri replied. Sam fell silent, trying to keep his tears in check. "Sam, I'm sorry," Missouri said.

Sam looked at her, confused. "For what?"

"You sensed it was here, didn't you?" she said. "Even when I couldn't."

"What's happening to me?" Sam asked.

Missouri shook her head. "I know I should have all the answers, but I don't know."

"Sam, Nora, you ready?" Dean called. Sam and Nora reluctantly left Jenny's porch and headed towards the Chevy. Dean and Janaya said goodbye to Jenny who headed back toward her house and thanked Sam and Nora.

"Don't ya'll be strangers," Missouri called before any of them could get into the car.

"We won't" Dean said.

"See you round," Missouri said, with a tone in her voice like they had no choice in the matter. They got into the car and drove off, the Chevy growling down the street.

OoOoOoO

Missouri opened the door to her home and sighed to herself. "That boy," she said, thinking about Sam. "He has such powerful abilities. Why he couldn't sense his own father, I have no idea." She turned into the living room of her house and on the couch sat John Winchester, his head in his hands.

John turned to Missouri. "Mary's spirit, you really think she saved the boys?" he asked.

Missouri sighed. "I do." John nodded and looked at his wedding band, remembering Mary. "John Winchester I could just slap you," Missouri said, interrupting his thoughts. "Why don't you go talk to your children?"

"Oh god I want to," John said. "You have no idea how much I wanna see 'em. But I can't, not just yet." He looked at Missouri. "Not until I know the truth."

OoOoOoO

Palari glared into a pair of bright yellow eyes.

"How are you keeping her from me, Palari?" the owner of the eyes asked.

Palari rolled her eyes. "You know, I'd love to tell you but that would kinda defeat the purpose, wouldn't it Erebus?"

Erebus growled. "Damn it Palari! You can't keep her from me forever!" he yelled in frustration.

"No," Palari agreed. "But I can try."


	5. Asylum

Getting to walk through Roosevelt Asylum in the middle of the night was definitely not one of the highlights of the job.

"Can't keep kids outta this place," one cop said, staring up at the building, dreading having to go in.

"What is it anyway?" the other, much younger, cop asked.

"I forgot you're no local, you don't know the legend," the first cop said, turning to the younger cop.

"What legend?"

"Every town's got its stories, right?" the older cop said. "Ours is Roosevelt Asylum. They say it's haunted with the spirits of the patients. If you spend the night, the ghosts'll drive you insane."

The younger cop looked up at the building, a frightened look on his face, before following his partner into the asylum in search of the teenagers who had broken in.

"Hello? Police officers!" The older one called, holding his flashlight above his head so as to shed more light on where he was going. "Police officers!" he repeated.

The younger cop looked around and frowned at an open door, chains and a broken padlock lying on the ground in front of it. His partner noticed it too. You telling me these kids brought bolt cutters?" he asked. "Come on, we'll split up," he said, walking through the door into the South Wing of the asylum.

The younger cop entered the boiler room in the basement, his flashlight held low and close to his body. "Hello?" he called but no one answered so he continued through the dark hallway. Eventually, he came to a slightly ajar door marked 'Biological Hazard.' He pulled it open further and walked in.

His partner slowly walked into a room, following a trail of open doors. To his right was a table on its side and he slowly walked around it, turning his flashlight to the faces of three young teenagers crouching behind the table.

"Alright," he sight. "Come on out."

The younger cop stepped further into the bio-hazard room and found his flashlight failing. Eventually, the flashlight gave up all together. As his flashlight flickered off, a door to his right, that he hadn't even noticed, squeaked open.

His partner watched the teenagers drive off in their yellow sports car.

"Kelley? You copy?" he said into his police radio. He turned back to the asylum building and found himself face to face with the younger cop, Kelley. "Jeez! Where've you been?"

Kelley nodded towards the building. "In there," he said.

"What was it? See anything?"

Kelley frowned slightly then smiled and laughed. "No."

The older cop shrugged and got back into the drivers seat of the patrol car. Kelley slid into the passenger seat and glanced at himself in the side mirror, noticing a trickle of blood coming out of his left nostril. He frowned then shrugged and wiped it away.

OoOoOoO

Kelley walked into his bedroom and hung his jacket on the back of the chair that sat in front of the vanity. His wife lay in bed reading but sat up and put her book down when he entered the room.

"Hey," she greeted cheerfully but Kelley ignored her. He moved closer to a chest of drawers on the opposite side of the room and took his gun and keys out of his pocket, placing them on the drawers.

"So, what?" his wife asked. "You're still not talking to me?" He didn't answer. "Walt? I said I was sorry about before, how many times do I have to say it?" Again, Kelley ignored her and pulled some coins out of his pocket and placed them next to his keys. He looked down at his gun then reached out and slowly picked it up. He spun around to face his wife and pointed the gun at her.

All that good be seen and heard outside was flashed of light and two loud shots.

OoOoOoO

Dean slouched in his chair, reading through his father's journal. Nora sat opposite him, her long hair covering her face as she fervently typed on Sam's laptop. Sam leaned against the wall behind her, talking to someone on his cellphone.

"Dad was in California last we heard from him, we just thought, since he comes to you for ammunition, that you may have seen him in the last few days. Just call us if you hear anything." He paused. "Thanks."

Dean glanced up from the journal. "Caleb hasn't seen him?"

Nope," Sam said, slightly frustrated. "Neither has Jefferson or Pasteur Jim. What about the journal? Any leads in there?"

Dean shook his head. "No, same as last time I looked. Nothing I can make out," he said then laughed slightly. "I love the guys but I swear he writes like freakin' Yoda."

Nora snorted. "Lol Yoda."

"What?" both brothers asked, wondering what 'lol' meant.

Nora just shook her head and resumed typing.

"Anyway," Sam said, getting back to the point. "Maybe we should call the feds, file a missing persons report."

No, we talked about this," Dean said firmly. "Dad''' be pissed if we put the feds on his tail."

"I don't care anymore," Sam said angrily. "After all that happened back in Kansas. He should have been there, Dean, you said so yourself you tried to call him and –"

"I know," Dean interrupted.

"You know," Sam said thoughtfully. "He could be dead for all we know."

"Don't say that!" Dean said, making Nora jump. "He's not dead, he's, he's…"

"He's what? Hiding?" Sam asked incredulously. "He's busy?"

Janaya came into the room carrying Dean's ringing cellphone. "Here," she said, handing it to him. "It was on the end of the bed and it won't stop making sounds."

Dean flicked his cellphone open and smiled. "I don't believe it."

"What?" Sam asked, looked at his older brother in confusion.

"It's, uh, it's a txt message," Dean said, showing Sam his phone. "It's coordinates."

Janaya went over to Nora and started reading over her shoulder. "Nora, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm emailing my friend from Romania," Nora explained, not bothering to stop typing.

"Well could you take a break and look up some coordinates please?" Janaya asked.

Nora sighed loudly and changed programmes. "What are the coordinates?" she asked, preparing to type them in.

"41, -89," Dean said and Nora obediently searched for them. "I think Dad sent them," Dean continued, looked at Sam.

"Sam looked confused. "You think _Dad_ was txting us?" he asked.

Dean nodded. "He's given us coordinates before."

"The man can barely work a toaster, Dean." Sam reasoned.

"Sam, this is good news," Dean said, trying to calm his brother. "It means he's okay or alive at least." He looked back down at his phone to make sure he'd told Nora the right coordinates.

"Well, is there a number on the caller ID?" Sam asked, almost resigning himself to believing it was his father.

"Nah, it says 'unavailable'," Dean admitted.

"Okay, well where do the coordinates point?"

"Rockford, Illinois," Janaya read over Nora's shoulder.

"That's interesting," Nora said as she stared at the screen.

Sam frowned. "How is that interesting?" he asked.

"Before I started my email, I check a few newspapers around the states and that one cam up," she explained. "I'll just see if I can find it." She clicked several times on the laptop mouse then smiled. "There."

Janaya frowned as she read the article. "Eugh," she said.

"What?" Sam and Dean asked simultaneously.

"This cop, Walter Kelley," she said, turning the laptop around so they could see. "Goes home, shoots his wife then puts the gun in his mouth and shoots his brains out."

Dean squinted at the screen. "Says here, earlier that night, Kelley and his partner responded to a call at the Roosevelt Asylum." Dean picked up his father's journal and flicked through it. "Dad earmarked that asylum in his journal. Here. Seven unconfirmed sightings, two deaths, 'till last week at least. This must be where dad wants us to go.

Sam shook his head in disbelief. "This is a job." He said. "Dad wants us to work a job."

"Maybe we'll meet up with him," Dean suggested hopefully. "Maybe he's there."

"Maybe he's not," Sam retorted. "I mean he could be sending us there by ourselves to hunt this thing."

"Who cares?" Dean asked, closing the journal. "If he wants us there it's good enough for me."

Janaya and Nora rolled their eyes and looked at each other but said nothing. They would let the boys have this argument themselves.

"It doesn't strike you as weird?" Sam asked as Dean walked around to the other side of him and put the journal back into the bag. "The txting? The coordinates?"

"Sam!" Dean said, interrupting his brother. "Dad's telling us to go somewhere, we're going." Dean walked into the other room to pack up the rest of his things and Sam glared after him.

"Don't worry about it, Sam," Janaya said comfortingly as she walked towards him. "Think of it this way: You may be getting further away from your father but at least you'll be saving lives."

Sam looked confused. "How do you know we're getting further away?"

Janaya patted his shoulder. "It's obvious. He doesn't want to be found so, unless he plans to meet you at Rockford, he's sending you to where he isn't." she joined Dean in the other room and Sam looked to Nora for help who just shrugged and continued her email.

OoOoOoO

Janaya and Nora walked into 'The Old Terminal' and ordered two beers. They ignored the stares of the men around them and sat down where they could get a good view of who they knew was Walter Kelley's old partner.

Dean came in not long after them and sat down opposite Kelley's partner. "You're Gunderson, right? You're a cop?"

"Yeah," Daniel answered, not looking pleased at being interrupted from his thoughts.

"I'm, uh, Nigel Tufnell, from the Chicago Tribune," Dean said, giving a fake name. "Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions about your partner?"

Daniel looked Dean up and down. "Yeah, I do," he said. "I'm just trying to have a beer here."

"That's great, it won't take long. I just want to hear the story in your own words."

Janaya groaned inwardly. _Show some tact, Dean!_

"A week ago my partner was sitting in that chair, and now he's dead," Daniel said. "You're gonna ambush me here?"

"Sorry," Dean said. "But I need to know what happened."

Sam came barging through the small crowd of people in the pub. "Hey buddy!" he yelled, roughly pulling Dean out of his chair and shoving him into the pool table. "The man's an officer, why don't you show a little respect!"

Dean composed himself and sulkily left the bar with everyone staring after him.

"You didn't have to do that," Daniel told Sam who was glaring after Dean.

"Yes I did," Sam said. "That guy's a serious jerk." Daniel smiled and nodded. "Hey," Sam said. "Let me buy you a beer."

When every one had gone back to their own business, Janaya left Nora to watch Sam and Daniel and went outside to see Dean. She found him leaning against the Chevy and smiled at him. "Hey," she said before shivering slightly.

"Hey," he said back as she leaned against the Chevy next to him. They were silent for a moment then Janaya breathed in deeply.

"Why'd you stop me?" she asked and Dean gave her a confused look. "In Lawrence, you stopped me from going in and helping you. Why?"

Dean sighed. "I told you then, I didn't want to risk losing you too," he said, not looking at her.

"That's not a reason, Dean," Janaya pressed. "I can take care of myself; you've seen me do it."

Dean turned to her. "Have I? I've seen you use your power but that burns you up or whatever, so that doesn't count." Janaya opened her mouth to argue but Dean stopped her. "Not to mention you'd been unconscious for three days after having your powers taken from you."

Janaya frowned. "I'm not the girl who has to be saved and protected," she said firmly.

Dean sighed and held her shoulders gently, turning her towards him. "I know," he agreed. "But it's not going to stop me from protecting you anyway."

Janaya tried to glare up at him but he kissed her. "You're infuriating," she said before kissing him back.

The door to the pub opened and they pulled apart to see Sam coming towards them.

"You shoved me kinda hard in there, buddy boy," Dean said when Sam was near enough.

"I had to sell it didn't I?" Sam asked innocently. "That's method acting."

The pub door opened again and Nora came out and ran over to them. "That's a gross pub," she muttered, folding her arms and shivering slightly in the cold

"So what did you find out from Gunderson?" Dean asked Sam.

"Walter Kelley was a good cop," Sam said. "Head of his class, even keeled, had a bright future ahead of him."

"What about at home?"

"He and his wife had a few fights, like everybody," Sam admitted. "But it was mostly smooth sailing. They were even talking about having kids."

"Alright, so either Kelley had some deep seated crazy waiting to bust out of him, or something else did it to him," Dean surmised.

"Right," Sam agreed.

"What'd Gunderson tell you about the asylum?"

Sam smiled wanly. "A lot."

OoOoOoO

They stood outside Roosevelt Asylum, looking up at the large fence and locked gate. Sam sighed and pulled himself up and over it.

"Janaya rolled her eyes. "Show off," she muttered.

"You next," Dean said to Nora, holding his hands out so she could step up on them. "She slowly climbed over the top and, with Sam's help, jumped the rest of the way down. Dean looked at Janaya expectantly, waiting for her to step up onto the fence. Janaya opened her mouth to argue and say that just because she was a girl didn't mean she couldn't climb it herself but she quickly changed her mind and reluctantly let Dean help her over and let Sam help her down. Dean clambered up, flipping over and landing right next to Janaya, grinning. She shoved him and followed Sam and Nora into the asylum.

Inside there was graffiti all over the walls and beer bottles all over the floor and surfaces.

"So apparently the cops chased the kids here," Sam said as they entered a large lobby like area. "And into the south wing." He turned and pointed at a door.

"South Wing, huh?" Dean said, pulling the journal out from his jacket pocket. "In 1972, three kids broke into the South Wing. Only one survived."

"Creepy," Janaya muttered. "Did the surviving one kill the others or what?"

Dean shook his head. "One of his friends went nuts and started lighting up the place."

"So whatever's going on," Sam said," the South wing must be the heart of it."

"Yeah but if kids are spelunking the asylum, why aren't there a ton more deaths?" Dean asked.

Sam looked at the door to the South Wing and noticed the broken chain and padlock. "Looks like the doors are usually chained," Sam pointed out. "Could have been chained up for years."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, to keep people out," he agreed. "Or to keep something in."

Nora shuddered. "That's comforting," she said sarcastically.

The door to the South Wing opened of its own accord and Janaya sighed. "We're gonna walk right in their like good little horror movie characters aren't we?" she said. Sam and Dean walked into the South Wing in answer. "I knew it."

Dean pulled out his EMF reader and switched it on. It read nothing. "Let me know if you see any dead people 'Hayley Joel,' Dean joked.

"Dude, enough," Sam said frustratedly.

Dean laughed. "No, I'm serious. You gotta be careful; ghosts are attracted to that whole ESP thing you got going on."

"I told you it's not ESP," Sam argued. "I just get strange vibes sometimes. Weird dreams."

"Yeah whatever," Dean said, frowning at his EMF. "Don't ask, don't tell."

Sam sighed. "You got any reading off that thing yet?" he asked.

"Nope," Dean said. "'Course, that doesn't mean nobody's home."

"Spirits can appear at certain hours of the day," Sam agreed.

"They can?" Nora asked. Sam nodded. "That means we're gonna have to come back at night, doesn't it?"

They ignored her and Dean grinned. "Hey, Sam, who do you think's a hotter psychic: Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Love Hewitt or you?"

Sam hit Dean on the shoulder making him laugh.

"I pick Nora," Janaya said. The boys turned to face her with confused looks on their faces.

Janaya sighed. "Patricia Arquette and Jennifer Love Hewitt played mediums not psychics. People who can communicate with the dead. Nora is a Medium; she's hotter than both of them so I pick Nora."

Sam laughed. "Now _that_ I have to agree with."

They walked into what looked like a procedure room. It was a procedure room they were glad they never had to see the wrong side of. The EMF still read nothing so Dean turned it off and put it back in his pocket. "Man, electroshock, lobotomies, they did some pretty twisted stuff to these people," Dean said, looking at all the equipment. "Kinda like my man Jack in _Cuckoos Nest_."

Janaya laughed slightly then stopped when she saw a baby doll on an instrument table. It was lying next to some jars full of questionable contents and its head was missing.

"So what do you think?" Dean asked. "The ghosts are possessing people?"

Sam shrugged. "Maybe," he said. "Or maybe it's more like Amityville or the Small haunting."

"Spirits driving them insane," Dean said, nodding. "Like my man Jack in _The Shining_."

Sam just gave him a strange look then huffed. "Dean, when are we gonna talk about it?" he asked.

"Talk about what?"

"About the fact that Dad's not here."

Janaya and Nora rolled their eyes and Sighed. Yet another argument.

"Oh, ah, let's see… never," Dean said.

"I'm being serious, man."

"So am I, Sam. Look, he sent us here, he obviously wants us here, we'll just have to pick up the search later," Dean said.

"It doesn't matter what he wants," Sam argued.

You see that attitude right there? That is why I always got the extra cookie."

Janaya let out a giggle, making the boys look at her. She cleared her throat awkwardly and went back to examining the creepy baby doll.

"Dad could be in trouble," Sam pointed out. "We should be looking for him. We deserve some answers, Dean. This is our family we're talking about!"

"I understand that, Sam," Dean said firmly. "But he's given us an order."

"So what, we gotta always follow Dad's orders?"

"Of course we do."

Sam shook his head and turned away. Janaya had left the baby doll with Nora and was now looking at a sign of some kind. "Hey, look at this," she said, lifting it up and showing it to the others.

"'Sanford Ellicott'," Dean read, taking the sign off Janaya. "You know what we gotta do. We gotta find out more about the South Wing. See if anything happened here." He roughly handed Sam the sign and walked out of the asylum.

OoOoOoO

Janaya, Nora and Dean waited outside the psychiatrists' building for Sam. He had gone in to get more information on the South Wing from one of the doctors and he was taking forever to do so.

"I'm so bored," Dean complained.

"Janaya sighed. "Stop whining, Dean, it's unattractive."

"Says you," Nora snorted. "You're like Queen of the Whingies."

Janaya just poked her tongue out at her.

"But it's raining and it's cold and he's been in there for ages," Dean continued.

Nora rolled her eyes then smiled. "There he is."

Janaya and Dean turned to see Sam walking out of the building.

"Dude, you were in there forever. What the hell were you talking about?" Dean asked.

"Just the hospital, you know," Sam said, leading the way back to the Chevy.

"And?"

"And, the South Wing? That's where they housed the real hard cases; the psychotics, the criminally insane…"

"Sounds like fun," Nora muttered.

"Yeah, and one night in '64 they rioted. Attacked the staff, attacked each other…"

"So, what, the patients took over the asylum?" Dean asked.

"Apparently."

"Any deaths?"

"Some patients, some staff," Sam said. "I guess it was pretty gory, some of the bodies were never recovered. Including our Chief of Staff, Ellicott."

"That's gruesome," Nora said and Janaya greed.

"What do you mean 'never recovered'?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged. "Cops scoured every inch of the place but I guess the patients must have… stuffed… the body somewhere hidden."

Janaya and Nora shuddered. "That's grim," Dean said.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "So, the transferred all of the surviving patients and shut down the hospital for good."

"So to sum it up we got a bunch of violent deaths and a bunch of un-recovered bodies," Dean said.

"Which could mean a bunch of angry spirits," Sam finished for him.

"Ah, good times, let's check out the hospital tonight," Dean said before getting back in the car.

Nora groaned. "Do we have to? I mean is this case really that important?"

Again she was ignored and reluctantly she followed the others into the car.

OoOoOoO

Sam slowly pushed the door to the South Wing open and led the way inside, pulling out a video camera and turning it on. Dean pulled out his EMF and this time it burst into life as he turned it on. Janaya and Nora followed behind, carrying a shotgun and a flashlight, respectively, and glaring at their boyfriends' backs.

They walked down a familiar looking corridor that was much darker now that it was night.

"Any readings?" Sam asked, not looking up from the video camera.

"Yeah, big time," Dean answered.

"This place is orbing like crazy," Sam noted. Janaya looked over Sam's shoulder at the video camera and noticed lots of balls of light all over the screen but couldn't be bothered asking what they were.

"There's probably multiple spirits out and about," Dean said, looking down at his spazzing EMF.

"And if there un-recovered bodies are causing the haunting," Sam started.

"Then we gotta find them and burn them," Dean finished. "Just be careful though, the only thing that makes me more nervous than a pissed off spirit… is the pissed off spirit of a psycho killer."

Janaya snorted. "You haven't met my mother when _she's­_ pissed off," Janaya pointed out. "Now _that's_ scary."

They continued onwards but stopped when they felt a movement from behind them. They turned around and found nothing but Nora shivered. "There is something very wrong with this place," she whispered.

Shrugging, the boys continued on, the girls following them. They entered a room and Sam looked at his camera, the orbing had stopped. He continued into the room while Dean and the girls explored a separate part of the room. Sam walked slowly through the room, careful to let the camera see every inch of it. He moved into a smaller part of the room then out again when it revealed nothing. He heard a creak behind him and spun around to find, yet again, nothing. He focused back on the camera and slowly turned back to the way he'd been going. An image came onto his camera screen and he looked up to see and old woman with a bloodied face moving towards him with her arms reaching for him.

"Dean!" he yelled, causing Dean, Janaya and Nora to run back to where he was. Nora screamed. "Dean! Salt gun!" Sam continued. Dean dropped his bag from his shoulder and lifted up his shotgun, aiming it at the woman.

"Sam, get down!" Sam did as he was told and ducked just as Dean shot the woman in the head with rock salt. Her head disappeared and so did the rest of her. Dean slowly lowered the shotgun.

Sam slowly stood up and frowned. "That was weird."

"You're telling me," Dean agreed, quickly leaving the room, the shot gun still in his hand. Janaya picked the bag he'd dropped and she and Nora followed.

"No, Dean, I mean, it was weird that she didn't attack me," Sam explained.

"Looked pretty agro from where I was standing," Dean countered.

"No," Nora said, "It didn't. You saw a ghost reaching for Sam and moving towards him, not attacking him or even showing the slightest interest in wanting to hurt him."

"So why'd you scream?"

"Because she was scary looking," Nora explained. "But that doesn't mean she meant to harm Sam."

"Exactly," Sam said. "So if she didn't want to hurt me, what did she want?"

They passed an open room and jumped as they heard a sound from behind an upturned table. Sam and Nora pulled out flashlights and Dean and Janaya pulled out shotguns. Slowly they made their way into the room and over to the table. Dean nudged Sam who moved to pull back the table. He paused to make sure Dean and Janaya had their guns aimed at whatever was behind it then quickly jerked it back revealing a blonde girl of about seventeen, huddled in the corner of the room. She spun around and squinted into the flashlights and breathed heavily in fear. Dean and Janaya lowered their guns as Sam and Nora lowered their flashlights.

"It's alright, we're not gonna hurt you," Dean assured the girl. "It's okay. What's your name?"

"Katherine," the girl answered as she stood up. "Kat."

"Okay, I'm Dean, this is Sam," Dean introduced. "And that's Janaya and Nora. "Nora and Janaya waved and smiled kindly.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked.

"Um, my boyfriend, Gavin –"

"Is he here?" Dean interrupted.

"Somewhere," Kat said, wiping her eyes. "He thought it would be fun, try and see some ghosts. I thought it was all just… you know, pretend. I've seen things… I heard Gavin scream –"

"Alright, Kat?" Dean asked, grabbing her arm. "Sam and Nora are gonna get you out of here then we're gonna find your boyfriend." Sam glared at Dean. He didn't want to have to look after this girl.

"Wait, no," Kat protested. "I'm not going to leave without Gavin."

"It's no joke around here," Dean said, "It's dangerous."

Janaya rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Dean, let the girl find her boyfriend," She said. "Who knows, you might learn something.

"Dean gave her a confused frown then sighed. "Alright I guess we're gonna split up then," he said. Janaya slid her hand into his, and Dean gestured for Kat to follow them. Nora took Sam's hand and they went off in the opposite direction

"Gavin!" Sam called. Nora shined her flashlight down a dark corridor and sighed as they followed it. "Gavin!"

"I'm gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware," Janaya sang quietly so that no one could hear her.

"Gavin?" Kat called.

"I'm gonna be the main event like no king was before," Janaya continued. This time Dean heard her and he looked at her with a confused look on his face.

"What?" she asked. "When I'm nervous I hum Metallica; when I'm scared shitless I sing show toons. Deal with it." Dean laughed.

"Gavin?" Kat called again.

"Hey, I got a question for you," Dean said, turning to face Kat. "You've seen a lot of horror movies, right?"

"I guess," Kat said.

"Do me a favour" dean said. "Next time you see one, pay attention. When someone says a place is haunted, don't go in."

Janaya laughed. "Says you Mr let's-split-up-in-the-haunted-asylum," she said. Dean frowned at her.

OoOoOoO

Sam and Nora walked into an almost empty room and saw a boy of about seventeen lying on the ground and assumed it was Gavin. Sam knelt on one side of him and Nora on the other.

"Gavin," Sam said, shaking him slightly. "Hey, Gavin." Gavin opened his eyes and sat up suddenly when he saw Sam and Nora. "It's okay," Nora said soothingly, "we're here to help."

"Who are you?" Gavin asked.

"I'm Nora and this is Sam," Nora said. Sam held out his hand to Gavin who took it.

"We found your girlfriend," Sam said as he helped Gavin to his feet.

"Kat?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Is she okay?"

"She's worried about you," Nora said, dusting Gavin off. "Are you okay?"

Gavin touched his forehead and winced as his finger brushed against a bump on his head. "I was running and I think I fell."

"Running from what?" Sam asked.

Gavin frowned. "There was this girl, her face was… was all messed up."

"Okay, this girl, did she try to hurt you?"

"What?" Gavin asked, confused. "No, she – she…"

"She what?" Sam prompted.

"She kissed me."

Sam frowned. "But she didn't hurt you… physically."

"Dud, she _kissed_ me," Gavin repeated. "I'm scarred for life."

Nora laughed but stopped when they looked at her. "Sorry," she muttered.

"Ok trust me," Sam said, "it could have been worse. Do you remember anything else?"

Gavin frowned in concentration. "She, uh, tried to whisper something in my ear."

"What?" Nora pressed.

"I don't know I ran like hell," he admitted.

OoOoOoO

Dean, Janaya and Kat walked cautiously down a darkened corridor.

"Is it just me or do all these corridors look the same?" Janaya asked. Dean shrugged as he pointed his flashlight into an empty room. Moments later, the flashlight flickered off and it became even darker.

"Shit," Janaya whispered, squeezing Dean's hand.

"It's alright, I got a lighter," Dean said, squeezing back. He went to reach into his back pocket but realised he didn't have any hands free.

"Jay?" he said, looking at her questioningly. She raised her eyebrows at him then looked at his full hands and a look of comprehension dawned on her face.

"Sorry," she said, reaching into his pocket and flicking the lighter on.

Kat turned around as she heard a noise behind her then felt a tight squeeze on her upper arm. "Ow," she hissed. "You're hurting my arm!"

"What are you talking about?" Janaya and Dean said at the same time, turning around and showing her their full hands. Kat looked at them, her eyes wide with fear then her eyes darted to her arm. Janaya held the lighter closer to Kat, revealing a dead, grey-green hand with a firm grip on her upper arm. Without warning and with amazing speed, she was yanked into the empty room screaming. The door slammed shut behind her and nothing Janaya or Dean could do would open it.

Dean and Janaya had dumped their stuff on the floor and were trying desperately to open the door. Dean was pulling as hard as he could while Janaya was looking for something that would pry it open. All this time, Kat was on the other side of the door, banging on it and screaming for help.

Janaya tapped Dean on the shoulder and handed him a crow bar she'd found around the corner. "Hang on, Kat!" she called as Dean tried to get the crowbar in between the door and the door frame. Kat stood back slowly, preparing for the moment the door would miraculously open. She froze when she heard a noise behind her and spun around only to find nothing. Dean continued banging the crowbar between the door and door frame persistently and Kat looked back to the door, still expecting it to open soon. The sound of heavy breathing came from behind her but she didn't want to turn around. Her curiosity got the better of her and she slowly turned around. Instead of finding nothing, she saw what she assumed had dragged her in there. It was tall, grey-green with long, greasy, black hair. It leaned towards her and she screamed, backing away for it only to back into it and scream again.

"What's going on?" Sam asked as her, Nora and Gavin ran towards Janaya and Dean.

"Help me!" Kat screamed, backing into a corner with her eyes closed. The ghost moved slowly towards her.

"Kat!" Gavin called. Dean finally managed to get the crowbar in the right place and began to pull.

"She's inside," he explained.

"Get me out of here!" Kat screamed pleadingly.

"Kat! Listen to me!" Sam said, moving closer to the door so she could definitely hear him. "It's not going to hurt you. You have to face it; you have to calm down!"

"She has to what?" Janaya and Dean asked in Unison.

"I have to what?" Kat asked from the other side of the door.

"They're not trying to hurt us, they're trying to communicate," Sam explained. "You gotta listen to it! You gotta face it!"

"You face it!"

"No, it's the only way you're gonna get out of there!" Sam urged.

"No!"

"Kat!" Janaya called. "The sooner you face it, the sooner you get out of there and we can all get out of here!"

"Just look at is, that's all!" Sam continued. "Come on you can do it!"

Reluctantly, Kat opened her eyes and turned towards the spirit. She looked it right in the eye and it leaned in to whisper something in her ear.

Everything had gone silent inside the room and those outside of it were getting worried.

"Kat?" Gavin called.

"I hope you're right about this," Dean muttered to Sam.

"Yeah me too," Sam admitted. Janaya and Nora widened their eyes at him but said nothing. Something clanged and the door opened revealing a shaken, but otherwise unhurt, Kat. Janaya and Nora pulled her out of the doorway and let Dean and Sam enter the room to investigate. Gavin slid an arm protectively around Kat's shoulders as Sam and Dean came back out of the room.

"One-thirty-seven," Kat said.

Sam and Dean frowned at her. "Sorry?"

"It whispered in my ear," she explained. "One-thirty-seven." Sam and Dean continued to frown.

"Room number," Nora and Janaya said in unison. "Come on guys, use those brains of yours!"

Finally nodding their understanding, Sam and Dean crouched down to pick their equipment.

"Alright," Sam said, "so if these spirits aren't trying to hurt anyone…"

"Then what are they trying to do?" Dean finished for him.

"Maybe that's what they've been trying to tell us," Sam suggested.

"Guess we'll find out," Dean said. He stood up and turned to Kat and Gavin. "So are you guys ready to leave this place?"

Kat managed a small smile. "That's an understatement."

Dean then turned to Sam. "You and Nora get them out of her," he said. "Janaya and I are going to find room one-thirty-seven." Dean switched his flashlight on and was relieved to find that, now that the spirit was gone, it emitted light. He grabbed Janaya's hand and continued on the way they'd been going before Kat had been dragged into the room.

"So how do you guys no about all this ghost stuff?" Kat asked after a few minutes down a dark corridor in silence.

"It's kind or our job," Sam explained.

Kat frowned. "Why would anyone want a job like that?"

Sam laughed, "I had a crappy guidance counsellor."

"And Dean?" Kat asked, "He's your boss?"

Sam frowned at her. "No."

Nora laughed, "Dean wishes," she said. Kat turned her attention to Nora. "Dean is Sam's older brother," she explained. "This is kinda their family business."

Kat nodded. "So how'd you and Janaya get involved?"

Nora smiled. "We fell in love with the wrong guys."

OoOoOoO

The door to one-thirty-seven was white and had a small window that was impossible to see through. Dean pushed the door open with some difficulty and scraping noises. Once in the room, they discovered it had chairs piled behind it. In fact, the entire room had been turned upside down and a plaque on the ground told them that this was Dr Ellicott's office.

OoOoOoO

Sam, Nora, Kat and Gavin arrived at the exit only to find that it was looked.

"Alright," Sam said, "I think we have a small problem."

"Let's break it down," Gavin suggested.

"I don't think that's gonna work," Sam countered.

"Then a window."

"They're barred," Kat pointed out.

"Then how're we supposed to get out?"

Sam frowned. "That's the point," Sam said. "We're not."

"There's something in here," Nora continued for him. "Something that doesn't want us to leave."

"Those patients, "Kat said.

"No," Nora said, her eyes sliding in and out of focus. "Something meaner and much more powerful.

OoOoOoO

Janaya and Dean were searching Ellicott's office for anything that might help them find out what was going on. Janaya found a part of the wall that appeared to come out.

"Dean," she called and he came and crouched down beside her.

"What?" he asked.

"Janaya pointed to the part of the wall she found. "I think it comes out."

Dean nodded. "So what do you need me for?"

"Like I'm going to risk pulling that out myself?" she asked. "Who knows what's behind there? You are far more experienced in the realm of opening hidden hiding places."

Dean rolled his eyes then passed his flashlight to Janaya she he could pull out the wall panel. "There was a small hole in the side of it so as to make it easier to pull out. It creaked in protest but eventually came free, revealing a leather book satchel. Dean pulled it out of its hiding place and dumped it onto Ellicott's desk. "This is why I get paid the big bucks."

Janaya rolled her eyes and passed Dean back his flashlight and opened the satchel before he could. "'Patient's Journal'" she read aloud the title on the first page. She turned the page to find diagrams of procedure instruments that looked far from pleasant. "Oh my God."

Dean pulled up a chair and sat down, pulling Janaya onto his lap so they could read the journal at the same time. On ever page of the journal was a different diagram, showing instruments, painful procedures and all manner of unpleasant things. "All work and no play makes Dr Ellicott a _very_ dull boy," Dean muttered as he read over Janaya's shoulder.

OoOoOoO

"Okay, I've looked everywhere," Sam said as he returned from wherever he'd gone. "There's no way out."

"So what the hell are we going to do?" Gavin asked, panicking.

"Well for started we're not going to panic," Sam advised.

"Why the hell not?"

Sam opened his mouth to argue but his cellphone chose that moment to ring. He pulled it put of his pocket and flicked it open.

"Hey," he said by way of greeting.

"Sam, it's me," Dean's voice said from the other end. "Janaya's unconscious and I can see him coming at me."

"Where are you?"

"The basement. Hurry up!"

"I'm on my way." He flicked the phone shut and put it back in his pocket. "Okay, that was Dean. He's in the basement and he and Janaya are in trouble so…" he paused and turned to Nora. "Have you ever fire a shotgun before?"

Nora frowned. "Seth took Jay and me to the shooting range a couple of times but I'm not confident."

"I am," Kat said. Gavin gave her a strange look. "My dad took me skeet-shooting a few times."

"Okay, here," Sam said, handing the shotgun to Kat. "It's loaded with rock salt. Now, it might not kill a spirit but it will repel it so if you see something: shoot."

"Okay."

"Good." Sam turned to Nora. "You stay here," he said and gave her a quick kiss before leaving to find Dean.  
Kat sighed and cocked the gun.

OoOoOoO

Sam ran into the boiler room and nearly tripped in his hurry, "Dean!" he called. He followed the corridor until he came to the only unlocked door. A door marked 'Biological Hazard'. "Dean?" Sam called again as he opened the door and walked in. The room was mostly empty save for a set of shelves and some bottles on them. Sam looked around the room. Dean had said he was in the basement so where the hell was he? Just as Sam thought this, a door behind him that he hadn't even noticed opened and his flashlight died. He spun around and aimed his shotgun into the room. The new room looked like any of the other procedure rooms except in here, the equipment, despite being old and rusting, was almost completely unharmed. "Dean?" Sam said, quietly this time. He sensed a movement to his left and saw a shadow move behind a curtain. Slowly, with the shotgun aimed at a curtain, Sam moved towards it. He hesitated slightly when he reached it then he swiped it away and found nothing. He pointed the gun behind the curtain, making sure nothing was going to jump out at him then he sighed, lowered his gun and turned around. A shooting pain went through his brain as dead grey hands gripped each side of his head and sent ghostly, electrical shocks through his brain.

"Don't be afraid," said the ghost of Doctor Sanford Ellicott, "I'm going to make you all better."

OoOoOoO

Gavin paced the small space they were confined to and Kat and Nora sat leaning against a wall.

"Hey Gavin?" Kat said.

Gavin moved over to Kat and crouched down so he was at her level. "Yeah?"

"If we make it out of here alive, we are so breaking up." Gavin opened his mouth, presumably to plead his case but was interrupted by the sound of something falling over. "Did you hear that?" Kat asked and raised the shotgun as she saw shadows coming towards them.

"Something's coming," Gavin said and stood up. Kat stood up and aimed…

"No wait!" Nora cried, standing up. "That's not –" but Kat had fired just as Dean had rounded the corner. Fortunately, Dean had ducked back around the corner before the rock salt could hit him and instead it blew bits out of the wall.

"Don't shoot it's us!" he called, staying behind the corner in case they shot again.

"Sorry!" Kat called, lowering the shot gun. Dean and Janaya continued around the corner now that they knew it was safe.

"What are you still doing here?" Dean asked Kat and Gavin. "Where's Sam?"

"He went to the basement," Nora explained. "You called him."

"I didn't call him," Dean said. Janaya met Nora's worried eyes.

"His cellphone rang, he said it was you," Kat elaborated.

Dean frowned. "Basement, huh?" Kat and Gavin nodded. "Okay." Dean pulled a pistol out of his jacket's inner pocket, checked to see if it was loaded then put it back. "Janaya, you stay here," Dean told her and continued before she could protest. "Watch yourselves," he warned. "And watch out for me."

Once he was gone, Janaya let out a frustrated growl. "I'm sick of being treated like I can't take care of myself," she said.

Nora sighed. "You can't." Janaya opened her mouth to protest but Nora stopped her. "You can fire a gun with reasonable accuracy, yes, but you're relatively inept when it comes to physical combat. Not to mention in the realm of metaphysical combat, you're completely powerless. I'm not saying I'm any better though," she added quickly. Janaya opened and closed her mouth a few times then, when she realised she had nothing to say, she settled for sitting on the ground and glaring at nothing in particular. "Oh, real mature," Nora muttered.

OoOoOoO

"Sammy!" Dean called, walking slowly down the same corridor Sam had gone down before discovering the biohazard room. "Sam, you down here?" He turned his flashlight towards the furnace then back the way he was going and nearly walked into Sam. He jumped and pointed his shotgun at him then relaxed when he realised it was only Sam. "Man, answer me when I'm calling you. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam said, an amused look on his face.

"You know that wasn't me who called your cell?"

"Yeah, I know," Sam said. "I think something lured me down here."

"I think I know who," Dean said. "Dr Ellicott." Sam frowned. "That's what the spirits have been trying to tell us. You haven't seen him have you?"

"No," Sam assured him. "How do you know it was him?"

"We found his log book," he explained. "Apparently he was experimenting on his patients. Some _awful_ stuff. Makes lobotomies look like a couple of aspirin."

"Bit it was the _patients_ that rioted?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, they were rioting against Dr Ellicott." Sam still frowned at him. "Dr Feelgood was working on some kind of, like, extreme rage therapy. He thought that if he could get his patients to vent their anger then they'd be cured of it," Dean explained. "Instead, it only made them worse and worse and angrier and angrier." Sam nodded. "So I'm thinking what if his spirit's doing the same thing? To the cop, to the kids in the seventies; making them so angry they become homicidal."

Sam nodded. "Huh."

"Come on, we gotta find the bones and torch 'em," Dean said, brushing past Sam and heading towards the biohazard room.

"How?" Sam asked, turning to face Dean. "The police never found his body."

"Well, the log book said he had some sort of hidden procedure room down here where he would work on his patients," Dean said. "If I was a patient, I'd drag his ass down here and do a little work on him myself."

"I dunno," Sam said. "That's kinda –"

"Crazy?"

"Yeah."

"Exactly."

OoOoOoO

Janaya had just finished telling Nora, Kat and Gavin what Dean had told Sam and Nora frowned.

"So someone, not Dean, sent Sam to the basement and it was probably Dr Ellicott," Nora thought aloud.

Janaya nodded. "Yup."

"And Ellicott is making people so angry they want to kill people."

"Yup."

"And we let Dean do to the basement alone."

"Yup," Janaya said then frowned. "Shit." She stood up and was grateful that Dean had decided to trust her with a shotgun on this hunt. "Okay, she said, turning to the others. "Nora and I are going to find the boys."

"We are?"

"And you two will stay put until we come back," Janaya continued, ignoring Nora. She cocked the shotgun and dragged Nora towards the basement.

OoOoOoO

"I told you I looked everywhere," Sam said, following Dean into the biohazard room. "I didn't find a hidden room."

"Well, that's why they call it hidden," Dean said, pointing his flashlight all around the room. They were silent for a moment then Dean heard the sound of wind blowing. "Do you hear that?" he asked.

"What?" Sam asked, shaking his head.

Dean moved towards the sound and found a gap between the wall and the ground. He put his hands near it and felt wind coming through. "There's a door here."

Sam held his shotgun by his side but flicked it up so that it was pointing at Dean. "Dean," Sam said. Dean turned around and looked from Sam to the gun then back to Sam again. Blood trickled from Sam's nose and he wiped it away, barely caring. "Step back from the door."

Dean slowly stood up and turned to face Sam properly. "Sam, put the gun."

"Is that and order?"

Dean glanced down at the gun again. "It's more of a friendly request."

"'Cause I'm getting pretty tired of taking your orders," Sam said, raising the gun.

"I knew it," Dean said, nodding. "Ellicott did something to you, didn't he?"

More blood trickled out of Sam's nose. "For once in your life, Dean, just shut your mouth."

"What are you gonna do, Sam?" Dean asked. "That's gun's filled rock salt. It's not going to kill me." Dean felt a severe bruising pain in his chest as pellets of rock salt hit him and he was thrown backwards through the hidden door.

"No," Sam agreed. "But it'll hurt like hell."

OoOoOoO

Still trying to find the basement, Nora and Janaya heard a gunshot and a crashing sound and stopped dead in their tracks.

"You don't think…?" Nora asked, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"I hope not," Janaya answered and sprinted off in the direction she hoped the basement was in.

OoOoOoO

Dean coughed as he regained consciousness and tried to get air into his lungs. "Sam," he croaked. "We gotta burn Ellicott's bones and then all this will be over and you'll be back to normal."

"I am normal," Sam said, smirking. "I'm just telling the truth for the first time. I mean, why are we even here?" 'Cause you're following Dad's orders like a good little soldier? 'Cause you always do what he says without question? Are you that desperate for his approval?"

"This isn't you talking, Sam," Dean winced.

"That's the difference between you and me," Sam continued. "I have a mind of my own. I'm not pathetic like you."

"So what are you gonna do, huh?" Dean asked, regaining some breath. "You gonna kill me?"

"You know what? I'm sick of doing what you tell me to do," Sam said. "We're no closer to finding Dad now than we were six months ago!"

Dean shifted his weight slightly so he could reach into his into his jacket. "Well then here," he said, pulling out the pistol. "Let me make it easier for you." He held the pistol up so that his fingers were away from the trigger. "Go on take it. Real bullets are gonna work a hell of a lot better that rock salt."

Sam snatched the pistol from Dean and dropped the shotgun on the ground. He held the pistol in both hands and moved forward so that the pistol was aimed right at the middle of Dean's face.

"You really hate me that much," Dean whispered. "You think you can kill your own brother?" Sam glared at Dean but made no other move. "Well then go ahead, pull the trigger."

Sam's face was contorted in anger as he squeezed the trigger.

"No!" Janaya cried as she ran into the room, but the gun had made a pitiful clicking sound and produced no bullet. Sam however had not noticed and now had the pistol pointed at Janaya. Dean took advantage in Sam's lapse of concentration and reached up so he could pull on Sam's arm, bringing him low enough so that Dean could punch him in the face, forcing Sam to the ground and Dean to moan in pain. Dean slowly pulled himself to his feet.

"Man, I'm not gonna give you a loaded pistol!" Dean said. He looked at Sam for a moment the punched him again, knocking him out. Janaya ran over to Dean as he cried out in pain. "Sorry, Sammy," Dean muttered as he allowed Janaya to help him stand up properly. "We've gotta find Ellicott's bones and burn them," Dean said, wincing again.

Nora knelt down next to Sam's unconscious body and wiped the blood off his face. "I'll sit here while you do that," she told them. "Dean and Janaya nodded then flicked on Dean's flashlight. Not five metres from them was a small cabinet giving off a strange smell. Slowly, Dean opened if and they were immediately bombarded with the strong stench of a decaying body.

"Ah, that's just gross," Janaya and Dean said simultaneously. Janaya opened Dean's bag and pulled out the salt and accelerant then handed them to Dean so that he could torch the body.

Janaya screamed as Ellicott's spirit appeared behind Dean, gripped each side of his head and sent ghostly electrical shots into him.

"Don't be afraid," Ellicott said as Dean struggled in his grip. "I'm going to make it all better."

"Janaya!" Dean gasped. "The bones! Torch the bones!"

Shaking, Janaya poured salt and accelerant over the bones. "Dean I haven't got anything to light it with!" she cried frantically. Dean tried to reach into his pocket but couldn't because Ellicott

S power was starting to take control. Then Nora appeared next to Janaya and, retching slightly at the smell of Ellicott's body, tossed a flaming match onto the bones and watched as the body burst into flames. As the body burnt, Ellicott's ghost blackened then fell to the ground and shattered like a very fragile rock.

Janaya helped Dean sit up and looked down at the ground "So much for the girl that doesn't need to be saved and protected," she said quietly. Dean tried to wrap her in a hug but his ribs were too severely bruised. "Wow you'd better let me look at that." Dean shrugged off his jacket, wincing the entire time then allowed Janaya to lift his shirt and examine the damage done to his chest. She pressed gently in certain places, causing him to wince slightly but that was all. "I don't think anything's broken," she said. "But you may want to go to the hospital to check."

Dean smiled. "Nah, you're doing fine."

Sam moaned as he regained consciousness and Nora ran back to him and helped him sit up.

"You're not going to try and kill me are you?" Dean asked Sam.

"No," Sam assuredhim.

"Good," Dean said. "'Cause that would be awkward."

OoOoOoO

"Thanks guys," Kat said, finally out of the asylum and in the day light (the sun had risen while they were inside).

"Thanks," Gavin agreed.

"No more haunted asylums okay?" Dean warned. Kat and Gavin nodded and when they walked away, Kat let Gavin put his arm around her. Sam, Dean, Janaya and Nora headed back towards the Chevy.

"Hey, Dean?" Sam asked. "I'm sorry, man, I said some awful things back there."

Janaya sighed. "Incoming Winchester moment," she said. "Come on, Nora, let's wait in the car."

"So you remember what happened?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "It's like I couldn't control it, but I didn't mean it. Any of it."

"You didn't, huh?"

"No of course not," Sam said. "Do we need to talk about this?"

"No," Dean said. "I'm not in a sharing and caring kind of mood. I just wanna get some sleep." He slid into the driver's side of the Chevy and started it up.

OoOoOoO

Sam was woken up by the sound of Dean's cell phone ringing.

"Dean," he said, hoping his older brother would wake up. When Dean didn't even move, Sam sighed and reached over a still sleeping Nora to answer Dean's phone. "Hello?" he asked sleepily. His eyes widened when he heard the answer and he sat up quickly. "Dad?"


	6. Scarecrow

**This is my first chapter with my beta who is apparently my biggest fan so I think I'll dedicate this chapter to her. Woo! got the beta!**

ONE YEAR AGO

The door to a small gas station opened and a young couple walked out.

"And before you go," an older woman said as she followed them out, "one of our apple pies." She handed a box to the young woman. "On the house."

"Oh, thank you!" the younger woman said, taking the box. "We should get lost more often!" she suggested, turning to her husband. "I mean, everyone here's so nice!"

"Yeah what's the catch?" her husband asked, laughing. An older man pulled a gas pump out of the car as they approached.

"You're all set."

The younger man shook the older man's hand. "Thanks," he said.

A younger girl, the older couple's niece, looked at the younger man's arm and smiled. "That's a cool tattoo," she said.

"Thanks."

"So," the older man said, "let's get you back to the interstate."

"Yeah, please."

"Take Laskey straight out of town."

"And then you're gonna turn right on Orchard road," the older woman added helpfully.

"Okay thank you," the younger man said, smiling.

Not long after they had turned right on Orchard road, the young couple's car broke down.

"What happened?" the woman asked as her husband tried to restart the car.

"I dunno," he admitted. "The car just died." He sighed and pulled out his cellphone then frowned. "Cellphone too."

"How is that possible?" the woman asked as she climbed out of the car. They had broken down next to an apple orchard.

"Come on," the man said, "looks like a house over there."

"No, I'm not going in there."

"Holly, we need help and we can't just wait here," her husband reasoned. Reluctantly, Holly followed her husband into the orchard and towards the light on the other side. They came to a creepy looking scarecrow.

"Check it out," Holly's husband said. "If I only had a brain."

"We wouldn't be lost," Holly countered.

"Thanks." He turned back to the scarecrow. "That has got to be the freakiest damn scarecrow I have ever seen."

"It scares me," Holly agreed. She couldn't take her eyes off the scarecrow as her husband dragged her away. Suddenly, the scarecrow's head moved up so that it was looking at them once again. Holly gasped and her husband turned around to see what was wrong. "Please, let's just hurry okay?" The light on the other side of the orchard seemed to get further away, the faster they moved towards it. They heard the sound of branches being moved aside and spun around to see what was following them but found nothing.

"Did you hear that?" the young man asked. Holly nodded. "Hello? Who's there?" A creepy moan answered his calls and he and Holly turned and sprinted towards the light. Suddenly, Holly found herself running alone. "Vince?" she called. "Vince!" there were loud footsteps in front of her and the sound of branches being moved and twigs being snapped. Holly turned around and ran back the way she came, the footsteps following her. She tripped over something and landed face first on the ground. She looked back to see what had tripped her and saw a dead body with the skin ripped off it. She screamed when she saw it then scrambled to her feet when she saw whatever had been chasing her. Holly's screams filled the night but no body heard her except for the scarecrow which was no longer on his post.

OoOoOoO

PRESENT DAY

Sam was woken up by the sound of Dean's cellphone ringing.

"Dean," he said, hoping his brother would wake. When Dean didn't move, Sam sighed and reached over a still sleeping Nora to answer his brother's phone. "Hello?" he asked sleepily.

"Sam, is that you?" a familiar, gravelly voice asked.

Sam's eyes widened when he heard the other voice and he sat up quickly. "Dad?" he asked. "Are you hurt?" At the sound of Sam's voice and the feel of the blankets being pulled off her, Nora woke with a moan.

"Sam?" she asked but he waved his hand for her to be quiet.

"I'm fine," John Winchester said to his youngest son.

"We've been looking for you everywhere," Sam said, louder than he should have. "We didn't know where you were."

"Sammy, I'm alright," John assured him. "What about you and Dean?" Dean was stretching as he'd just woken up and his movements had jolted Janaya awake so she shoved him irritably.

"We're fine," Sam said. "Dad, where are you?" Dean sat up when he heard the word 'Dad'.

"I'm sorry, Kiddo, I can't tell you that."

"What? Why not?"

"Is that Dad?" Dean asked.

"Look, I know this is hard for you to understand you just… you're gonna have to trust me on this," John said.

Sam quietened. "You're after it aren't you? The thing that killed Mom."

"Yeah," John admitted. "It's a demon, Sam."

"A demon?"

Nora's eyes widened. Demon? So what had killed her parents _had _tried to kill Janaya's mother too?

"You know for sure?" Sam asked into the phone.

"A demon?" Dean asked. "What's he saying?" Janaya shushed him.

"I do," John said. "Listen Sammy, I also know what happened to your girlfriend."

Sam frowned for a moment. "Nora?"

"No, Jess." Sam stopped as he remembered coming back from the hunt with Dean and finding Jess on the ceiling already dead. "I'm so sorry. I would have done anything to protect you from that."

Sam breathed deeply, tears in his eyes. "You know where it is?"

"Yeah, I think I'm finally closing in on it."

"Let us help."

"You can't, you can't be any part of it."

"Why not?"

"Sam, give me the phone," Dean said, reaching over Janaya who grumbled and moved lower so she wouldn't be shoved off the bed.

"Listen, Sammy, that's why I'm calling. You and your brother, you gotta stop looking for me."

"What? No!" Sam said. "This isn't just about us anymore, Dad. The demon or whatever killed both of Nora's parents and attacked Janaya's Mom!" he had obviously come to the same conclusion as Nora.

"What?" Janaya said, sitting up suddenly and pushing Dean back.

"I'm sorry, Sammy, but I have to do this alone. Now, I need you to write down these names," John told him.

"Names? What names? Dad, talk to me, tell me what's going on."

"We don't have time for this. You're right; this is bigger than we thought. They're everywhere, even us talking right now, it's not safe."

"No, alright? No way."

"Gimme the phone!" Dean said, reaching for it again.

"I've given you an order," John said firmly. "Now you stop following me and you do your job. Do you understand?"

"Sam!" Dean said angrily.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Nora snatched the phone from Sam and passed it to Janaya who passed it to Dean.

"Dad! It's me," Dean said. "Where are you?" Dean was silent while his father replied. "Yes, Sir." He looked around then grabbed a pen and piece of paper from the bedside table. "Yeah I got a pen. What are the names?"

While Dean took down the names his father gave him, Janaya looked intently at Sam and Nora. "What attacked my Mum?" she asked.

Sam frowned. "Uh…" he couldn't answer, not with her glaring at him like that.

"A demon," Nora said calmly, Janaya's glare did nothing to her. "Palari took our powers because something pure evil, a demon, attacked her and told her it was coming for us. Taking our powers was one of the methods she used to protect us."

Janaya nodded as she processed the information. "And none of you felt like telling me this before because…?"

"First, you were unconscious," Dean said, having hung up the phone. "And second, we had lives to save. It sort of slipped our minds."

"Fair enough," Janaya said. "But next time something attacks my family, I would like to know about it. Okay?" The others nodded and then set about getting dressed.

OoOoOoO

It had taken until sun down to get ready and out of the motel room but finally they were well on their way down the highway and on the way to Burkitsville, Indiana.

"Okay so the names Dad gave us, they're all couples?" Sam asked as he drove.

Dean nodded. "Three different couples all went missing."

"And they're all from different towns?" Sam asked," Different States?"

"That's right; Washington, New York, Colorado. Each couple took a road trip cross country, none of them arrived at their destinations and none of them were ever heard from again."

"It's a big country, Dean, they could have disappeared anywhere," Sam reasoned.

"Yeah, _could_ have," Dean agreed. "But each one's route took them through the same part of Indiana, always on the second (week) of April, one year after another, after another."

"Waist a second, _this_ is the second week of April," Nora interrupted.

"Yup."

"_We're_ a couple, Dean. Us. What if something happens to us?"

"Nothing will happen to us," Sam assured her. "Because we're two couples. Dad's sending us to Indiana to hunt for this thing before another couple vanishes."

"Yahtzee," Dean said, flicking through the journal.

"Okay," Nora said, leaning back in her seat. "All that tells me is that you're both mad. Whoa," she added when the car rocked slightly on new terrain. Sam was pulling over onto the side of the roads.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked.

Sam pulled the handbrake. "We're not going to Indiana.

"We're not?"

"No, we're going to California," Sam said. "Dad called from a payphone; Sacramento area code."

"Sam –"

"Dean, if this demon killed Mom, Jessica and Nora's parent's _and_ attacked Janaya's Mom, and Dad's closing in, we gotta be there. We gotta help."

Dean shook his head. "Dad doesn't want our help."

"I don't care."

"He's given us an order!"

"I. Don't. Care," Sam repeated. "We don't always have to do what he says."

"Sam, Dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives, it's important."

"I understand," Sam said, "believe me, I understand but I'm talking one week, man, to get answers, to get revenge."

"Look, I know how you feel –"

"Do you?" Sam interrupted. "How old were you when Mom died? Four? Jess died six months ago. How the hell would you know how I feel?"

Nora looked awkwardly down at her lap and Janaya frowned. "Okay, that's it," she said, " you two, out of the car." She took off her seat belt and made to get out of the car herself but the boys hadn't moved. "Now!" Glaring at each other, the two brothers stepped out of the car and made their way to the front. "Stay here," she told Nora. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she yelled once she had reached the boys. They stared at her in stunned silence. "You." She jabbed Sam in the Chest. "I defended you to Nora when you screwed up and you don't get to screw up twice so listen closely. I understand that you're upset over you're girlfriend's death, I really do, but you are with Nora now and it's not fair to her being reminded that you could just be on the rebound. Jessica is dead, Sam. I know it hurts but there is nothing you can do about it. No power on this world or any other can bring back the dead." Sam opened his mouth to argue but Janaya had turned to face Dean. "As for you, it's nice that you want to save lives and all but there is revenge to be had and your father needs your help whether he wants it or not."

"Thank you!" Sam said.

Janaya smiled at him. "Don't thank me yet," she said and he frowned. "While my first instinct is to find your father and kill the son of a bitch who has caused people I love so much pain, I have to say that we are definitely going to Indiana."

"What?" both brothers asked.

"My mother stripped me of my powers to protect me from this demon so the last thing I'm going to do is run towards it screaming: 'look at me I'm defenceless and delicious!'"

"Delicious?" Dean asked, grinning slightly.

Janaya shrugged. "I dunno, he might want to eat me."

"Fine, you guys go to Indiana," Sam said, going over to the back of the car. "But I'm going to California."

"You're a selfish bastard, you know that?" Dean told Sam as he followed him. "You just do whatever you want. You don't care what anybody thinks."

"Is that what you really think?"

"Yes it is."

Janaya rolled her eyes and got back in the car next to Nora. "You okay?" she asked.

Nora added. "It's just that sometimes I think it's a mistake that I fell in love with Sam." Janaya gave her a puzzled look and Nora shrugged. "I dunno. I know he thinks he loves me but it was, what, two months after Jessica's death? And I know he still loves her." She sighed. "Maybe I should just let him get on with his grief."

Janaya shook her head. "You keep working at it, Nor. You guys are good together and there aren't many out there like Sam."

"I'm taking off!" they heard Dean yelling. "I will leave your ass, you hear me!" There was a pause and then the car jolted as the trunk was slammed closed. Dean roughly slid into the driver's side and started the car.

"Where's Sam?" Nora asked as Dean sped off down the highway.

"He's not coming."

OoOoOoO

It might just have been Nora's imagination, but the dawn without Sam brought them thunder, rain and, she was sure, closer to danger. Nora looked around when she'd realised they'd stopped and nudged Janaya who had fallen asleep. Dean pulled out his cellphone and stared flicking through his contacts. He came to the picture of Sam and stared at it for a while before shaking his head and flicking his phone closed. They got out of the car and walked quickly towards a place called Scotty's café.

"Mmmm, maybe there'll be coffee!" Janaya said cheerfully only to be ignored by both her best friend and her boyfriend. She sighed. "This is going to be a long hunt."

An older man, with longish hair, sat on a chair outside the café, under a veranda and safe from the rain.

"You must be Scotty," Dean said assumingly, glancing at the sign that gave the name of the café. The man looked at it then back to Dean.

"Yup."

"Hi, my name's John Bonham," Dean said and was about to introduce the girls when Scotty interrupted him.

"Isn't that the drummer for Led Zeppelin?"

"Wow," Dean said, surprised at having been caught out so quickly. "Good, classic rock fan." Dean grinned then pointed to the girls. "That's Hayley and Sharon." Scotty nodded to the girls in acknowledgement as they tried to remember where their aliases had come from.

"What can I do for you, John?" Scotty asked.

Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out two missing posters. "We were just wondering if you've seen these people." He handed the posters to Scotty who looked at them briefly.

"Nope," he said. "Who are they?"

"Friends of ours," Janaya said, stepping forward. "They went missing about a year ago."

"They passed through somewhere around here," Nora added helpfully. "We've already asked around Scottsburg and Salem."

"Sorry," Scotty said, handing the posters back to Dean. "We don't get many strangers around here."

"Thanks anyway," Dean said and led the girls away from Scotty's café.

"What? No coffee?" Janaya asked, disappointed.

OoOoOoO

Sam trundled along the side of the highway in the rain and jumped at the sound of thunder. He stopped when he nearly tripped over a blonde girl who was sitting on the ground, rocking to really loud music.

"Hey," he said," trying to get her attention. When it didn't work, he stepped forward and tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jump up and spin around.

"You scared the hell out of me." She said, pulling out her earphones.

"I'm sorry," Sam said, holding his hands up in apology. "I just thought you might need some help."

"I'm good, thanks," the girl assured him.

"Uh, so… where're you headed?" Sam asked.

The girl smiled. "No offence, but no way I'm telling you."

"Why not?"

"You could be some kind of freak," she said matter of factly. "I mean, you are hitch-hiking."

Sam laughed. "So are you!"

The girl laughed then stopped at the sound of a car's horn. A white van pulled up beside them and the driver rolled down the window. "Need a ride?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sam and the girl said together.

"Just her," the driver said and the girl ran to pick up her stuff before climbing into the van,

"You trust shady van guy and not me?" Sam whispered to the girl.

"Definitely," she said, grinning. The white van sped off and Sam stared after them then huffed.

OoOoOoO

Dean, Janaya and Nora stopped at 'Jorgeson's General Store', which doubled as a gas station, to ask more about Holly and Vince Parker.

"Are you sure they didn't stop for gas or something?" Dean asked when the pictures brought a resounding 'no' from Mr and Mrs Jorgeson.

"Nope, don't remember 'em," Mr Jorgeson added. "You say they were friends of yours?"

"That's right," Dean said, nodding.

"Did the guy have a tattoo?" a girl close to Janaya and Nora's age asked as she came down a set of stairs carrying some boxes.

Janaya nodded. "Yeah, a really cool one," she said. "Reminded me of home."

Dean handed the picture to the girl who looked at the picture of Vince then nodded and turned to the older couple. "You remember? They were just married."

Mr Jorgeson frowned. "You're right, they did stop for gas. They weren't here more than ten minutes."

"Do you remember anything else?" Dean pressed.

Mr Jorgeson shrugged. "We told them how to get back to the interstate and they left town."

"Could you point us in that same direction?"

"Sure."

As they headed back to the interstate, following Mr Jorgeson's directions, Janaya and Nora jumped as Dean's EMF reader started lighting up and making weird noises. Janaya reached into Dean's open back pack and pulled it out. Dean pulled over as she passed it to him and they found themselves opposite an orchard.

"Well that looks inviting," Nora muttered as she stared as the tunnel like paths between the trees.

"Come on," Dean said, "Let's check it out."

"But, I…" Nora started then sighed ad gave up, following Janaya and Dean into the orchard. "There were heaps of baskets and ladders under the trees which presumably meant someone was in the process of harvesting. In the middle of the orchard, or thereabouts, stood a scarecrow. Slowly they moved towards it and stared up at its demented face.

"Dude," Dean laughed. "You fugly."

Janaya nearly stumbled with the force of the sudden wave of energy from the scarecrow. She looked up at Nora who had her hand over her chest and was breathing heavily.

"You felt that too?" Janaya asked and Nora nodded. "I thought Mum took away all my powers?"

Nora shrugged. "I don't think being able to sense power is an ability, Jay, I think it's just something that goes along with the 'being a witch' package."

Dean frowned. "What the hell are you two on about?"

"When you insulted the scarecrow I think it got angry," Janaya explained. "It released a wave of energy that was unbelievably powerful."

"So do you know what it is?" Dean asked.

Nora shook her head. "I've never felt anything that powerful before."

"I have a feeling it could be more powerful," Janaya said. "I mean, that was just a sample of it's power. I think it's a God."

"A God?" Dean asked.

Janaya nodded. "Yup and I think we should get out of here." Nora nodded in agreement.

Dean nodded too, "Okay," he said," just as soon as I get a closer look."

"What?" Janaya hissed as Dean grabbed one of the ladders from under a tree and leant it against the scarecrow's post. Janaya looked to Nora for help.

Nora shrugged. "Don't look at me, he's your boyfriend."

Janaya sighed and turned back to Dean. "Dean!" she hissed as he climbed closer to the scarecrow. "You can't just 'get a closer look' of a God! There are certain rules to follow! You have to show some respect!"

Dean shrugged. "And what if he's the one who's been killing the couples?" he asked. "Do I have to show respect then?"

"If he's killing people _and_ he's a God then yes, Dean!" Janaya said. "If you disrespect an evil God then who do you think becomes their next victim?"

Dean shrugged again. "And what if he's not a God?" he asked.

"Then be careful."

Dean pushed aside a bit of the scarecrow's robe that was covering his arm. The arm had a tattoo identical to that of Vince Parker's. "Looks like this is the guy," Dean told the girls as he checked the tattoo against Vince's picture just to make sure.

"Okay good, can we go now?" Janaya asked. Dean nodded and climbed down from the ladder and followed the girls to the car.

They pulled up at 'Jorgeson's Motors' and found the Jorgeson couple's niece standing outside. They stepped out of the car as she greeted them.

"You're back,' she said.

"Never left," Dean corrected her.

"Still looking for your friends?"

Dean nodded. "Would you mind filling her up there, uh, Emily?" he asked, glancing at her name tag. Emily nodded and grabbed the fuel pump, fitting it into the Impala's fuel inlet.

"So what did you mean when you said that guys tattoo reminded you of home?" Emily asked, standing up and looking at Janaya.

"What?" Janaya asked then laughed. "Oh yeah, Vince's tattoo looks like a moko."

"A what?" Dean and Emily asked in unison.

"A moko is what the native people of New Zealand call a tattoo," Janaya explained. "They symbolise power or strength and things like that. Except, in New Zealand, real moko aren't done with a needle, they're done with something that looks like a sharp comb dipped in ink and they're chiselled into your skin."

"Cool," Emily said, grinning.

"Okay, so now we've established that Jay grew up in wack-o-town –" Dean started.

"I didn't even get to the cannibalism part!"

"Did you grow up here, Emily?" Dean asked, ignoring Janaya's interruption.

Emily shook her head. "I came here when I was thirteen," she said. "I lost my parents in a car accident. My Aunt and Uncle took me in."

"Are they nice people?"

"Everybody's nice here," Emily said.

"So, what, it's the perfect little town?"

"Well, it's the boonies, but I love it. I mean, the towns around us; people are losing their homes, their farms, but here, it's like we're blessed."

"Have you been out to the orchard?" Nora asked, "Have you seen the scarecrow?"

"Yeah, it creeps me out."

"Whose is it?" Janaya asked.

"I dunno," Emily admitted. "It's just always been there."

"Really," Janaya said thoughtfully.

"Is that your aunt and uncle's?" Dean asked, nodding to a red four wheel drive in the garage.

Emily shook her head. "Customer had some car trouble."

"It's not a couple is it?" Dean asked, "A guy and a girl?"

Emily nodded. Nora and Janaya sighed.

OoOoOoO

"Sorry, the Sacramento bus doesn't run again 'till tomorrow," the bus information woman told Sam. "Um five-oh-five pm."

"Tomorrow?" Sam asked. "There's got to be another way."

"There is," the info lady told him. "Buy a car."

Sam frowned at her then turned away, pulling out his cellphone. He flicked through his contacts until he found Dean's number and was about to call him when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey." He looked up to see the girl he'd seen hitch-hiking earlier. He turned his phone off and smiled confusedly at her.

"Hey," he said back.

"You again," she acknowledged.

"What happened to your ride?"

"You were right, that guy was shady. All hands," she said. "I cut him loose." Sam laughed then glanced at an incoming bus and sighed. "What's the matter?" the girl asked.

"Just trying to get to California."

"No way," the girl said, a surprise look on her face.

"Yeah."

"Me too," she said, standing up. "You know, next bus isn't until tomorrow."

"Yeah," Sam said, "that's the problem."

"Why? What's in Cali that's so important?"

"Just something I've been looking for, for a long time."

"Well," the girl said, "then I'm sure it can wait one more day, right? I'm Meg." She held out her hand.

"Sam," Sam replied, taking her hand and shaking it.

OoOoOoO

"We're famous for our apples," Scotty said as he lay plates down in front of a couple. "So you gotta try our pie."

"Oh no," the woman said, "Please –"

"No, no," Scotty said, "It's on the house."

The door to Scotty's Café opened and Dean came in. "Hiya Scotty," he greeted cheerfully. "Can I get a coffee? Black. Oh and a latte and a hot chocolate?"

"Coming right up," Scotty said as Dean sat down.

"Do you need all those drinks?" the woman asked as she spooned apple pie into her mouth.

Dean laughed. "They're not all for me," Dean told her. "I'm on a road trip with my girlfriend and her best friend and they'll be along any minute."

"I'm sure these people wanna eat in peace," Scotty said as he placed the drinks Dean had ordered onto Dean's table.

"Just a little friendly conversation," Dean said innocently. "So what brings you to town?" Dean asked the couple.

"We just stopped for gas," the woman said. "And the guy at the gas station saved our lives."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah one of our break lines was leaking," the guy said. "We hadn't even noticed. He's fixing it for us."

"Nice people," Dean said. "So how long till you're up and running?"

"Uh, sundown," the guy said.

"To fix a break line?" The guy nodded. "I know a thing or two about cars I could probably have you up and running in about an hour and I wouldn't charge a thing."

"You know thanks a lot," the woman said, "but I think we'd rather have a mechanic do it."

"Sure," Dean said quietly. "It's just that these roads aren't real safe at night."

"I'm sorry?"

"I know it sounds strange but, uh –"

"John!" Janaya said loudly as she came into the café. "I thought we'd gotten rid of your habit?"

"What habit?" the woman asked.

"He has this habit of frightening strangers he meets on our road trip," Nora explained.

"Hayley! Why would you –?"

"Shh, John, it's time fore you meds," Janaya said. "Ooh coffee!" As Janaya sipped her coffee, the Sheriff walked into the café.

"Thanks for coming Sheriff," Scotty said, walking over to the Sheriff and speaking with him quietly.

"I'd like a word please," the Sheriff said to Dean, nodding at the girls in acknowledgement.

"C'mon I'm having a bad day already," Dean said.

"You don't wanna make it worse."

"They drove out of town followed by police sirens.

"It's time for my meds?" Dean asked.

"You were about to you 'you might be in danger' before we came along weren't you?" Janaya asked, ignoring his question.

"I was not," Dean said defensively.

"Dean," Janaya said warningly.

"Okay, fine," Dean sighed. "I was."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Janaya almost exploded. "When has that ever worked, Dean, when?"

"It worked on you guys," Dean reminded her.

Janaya snorted. "I don't remember the word's 'You're in danger' when you spoke to us the first time. I heard bad lies and claims supernatural things were happening which we only believed because I was a witch and Nora's a medium."

"Okay, I screwed up, what are we going to do?"

"How should I know?"

OoOoOoO

"So, what, are you on some kind of vacation or something?" Sam asked Meg.

"Yeah, right," she laughed. "It's all sipping Krystof pool side for me. I had to get away from my family."

"Why?"

"I love my parents, and they wanted what's best for me, they just didn't care if I wanted it. I was supposed to be smart, but not smart enough to scare away a husband. It's just… because my family said so, I'm supposed to sit there and do what I was told. So I just… went on my own way." Sam looked at her thoughtfully. "I'm sorry, the things to say to people you hardly know."

"No, no it's okay," Sam assured her. "I know how you feel. Remember that brother I mentioned before, that I was road tripping with?" Meg nodded. "It's kinda the same deal."

"And that's why you're not riding with him anymore?" Sam nodded.

"And what about your girlfriend? You never said why she was still with him."

Sam smiled. "She didn't ditch me for him if that's what you're thinking. Her best friend is my brother's girlfriend which is why she's with them. Janaya decided they were better off with Dean and Nora didn't bother arguing…actually I don't think she was even part of the conversation."

"Huh," Meg said. "This Janaya sounds like my little sister."

"Hmm?"

"I have a little sister and she's 'perfect'. My parents' lives revolve around her, when they're not criticising the way I'm living my life. So basically, whatever she says goes…" Meg trailed off then raised her beer bottle. "Here's to us. The food might be bad and the beds might be hard, but at least we're living our own lives." Sam raised his own bottle and joined the toast.

OoOoOoO

"I can't believe it, we just got the car fixed!" a woman said as she wandered through the orchard with her husband.

"This way," he husband said, leading her towards the light. Something moved behind them and they spun around.

"Steve?" the woman asked her husband, clinging to him. There was a sound from behind them and again, they spun around.

"Who's there?" Steve called and, almost immediately, the scarecrow appeared out from behind a tree. Steve's wife screamed and they both turned and ran as fast as they could and nearly ran into Dean and Janaya, who were carrying shot guns, and Nora.

"Get back to your car," Dean said urgently and Nora stepped forward to grab the couple's arms and lead them in the right direction. "Go! Go!" Dean yelled when they didn't move. Nora dragged the couple towards their car and Janaya and Dean held back a little bit. They aimed their shotguns and shot as the scarecrow but it didn't even slow it down.

"I told you the guns were a stupid idea!" Janaya yelled as they ran back towards the road, Dean still shooting at the scarecrow. Once outside the orchard and back on the side of the road, the scarecrow disappeared.

"What was that?" Steve asked.

"Don't ask."

OoOoOoO

The scarecrow climbed off it's cross?" Sam asked. Dean had called him and updated him on the case and it sounded pretty weird.

"Yeah I'm telling you, Burkitsville, Indiana, fun town," Dean said sarcastically.

"It didn't kill the couple did it?"

"Nah, you know we _can _cope without you, Sam."

"So something must be animating it," Sam said, ignoring Dean's comment, "A spirit."

"No, it's way more than a spirit. Janaya reckons it's a God and I'm actually starting to believe her."

"Thank you!" Janaya said, slightly frustrated.

"At first I thought she was just being dramatic, but apparently, it's super-powerful, it's definitely immune to rock salt, it kills in an annual cycle and the victims are always a man and a woman, like some kind of fertility rite. So I'm with her, it's a God and probably a pagan one."

"Hey, I resent that!" Janaya said loudly then shrugged. "Although you're probably right…"

"And you should have seen the locals," Dean continued. "The way they treated this couple, fattening them up like a Christmas turkey."

"The last meal, given to sacrificial victims," Sam agreed.

"Yeah, I'm thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan God."

"So a God possesses a scarecrow…"

"The scarecrow takes it's sacrifice and for another year the crops won't wilt and disease won't spread."

"You know which god you're dealing with?"

"No, not yet."

"When you figure out what it is you can figure out a way to kill it."

"I heard that!" Janaya called to Sam. "You can't kill a God!"

"So anyway, we're heading to a local community college. We've got an appointment with a professor. You know, since I don't have my trusty side kick geek boy to do all the research."

"Can I have the phone now?" I would like to speak to my boyfriend this week," Nora asked.

"Yeah hang on a minute," Dean said. "Sam, I want you to know…I mean don't think –"

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," Sam said.

"Sam, you were right, you gotta do your own thing, you gotta live your own life."

"You serious?"

"You've always known what you want and you go after it. You stand up to Dad, and you always have… anyway, I admire that about you. I'm proud of you Sammy."

"You know, I hate to break up this brotherly moment," Nora said, tapping Dean on the shoulder. "But I'd like to speak to my boyfriend now…"

Dean sighed. "Sorry, Sammy, but there's a desperate blonde who wants to talk to you so… bye." Dean passed the phone back to Nora who leaned back in her seat. Janaya, who was riding shotgun, squeezed Dean's shoulder affectionately.

"You're a good brother, Dean."

OoOoOoO

Meg woke up and went to sit by Sam. "Who was that?" she asked as he put his phone back into his pocket.

"Well, just then it was my girlfriend," he said, "telling me I have to hurry up and get back to her. But before that, it was my brother."

"What'd he say?"

"Goodbye."

OoOoOoO

"It's not everyday I get a research question on pagan idolatry," the professor said as he lead Dean and Janaya to his office. Nora was waiting in the car with the keys, just in case something happened.

"Huh, well, call it a hobby," Dean said.

"But you said you were interested in local lore?" Dean and Janaya nodded. "I'm afraid Indiana isn't really known for its pagan worship."

"What if it was imported?" Janaya asked. "You know like pilgrims brought their religions over. Wasn't a lot of this area settled by immigrants?" Dean gave himself a mental note to ask Janaya how she knew that. "Like that town near here, Burkitsville, where are their ancestors from?"

"Ahh, Northern Europe, I believe, Scandinavia," the professor answered.

"Well, what can you tell us about those Gods?" Janaya asked.

The professor laughed slightly. "Well, there are hundreds of Norse Gods and Goddesses."

"Oh I know, but we're just looking for one," Janaya said.

"Yeah, the one we want might live in an orchard," Dean added.

When they reached the professor's office, he pulled out a leather bound book and dumped it on his desk, pulling out his glasses. "A woods God," he said. "Well, let's see."

The book was old and almost creaked as he turned the pages. There was a picture of the scarecrow in a field and the professor almost turned the page over so they couldn't see it but Dean stopped him. "Wait, what's that one?"

"Oh, that's not a woods God per say," the professor said quickly.

"'The Vanir'," Janaya read, leaning forward so she could see the writing better. "'The Vanir were Norse Gods of protection and prosperity, keeping the local settlements safe from harm. The villagers put effigies of the Vanir in their fields; others practiced human sacrifice, one male and one female.'"

"Kinda looked like a scarecrow, huh," Dean said, pointing to the picture of the Vanir. The professor agreed with a nervous smile.

"'This particular Vanir, its energy sprung from a sacred tree'," Janaya continued reading.

"Pagans believed all sorts of things were infused with magic," the professor said quickly and Janaya had to resist the urge to yell at him.

"So what would happen if this sacred tree was torched?" Dean asked, "Do you think it'd kill the God?"

"For the millionth time, you cannot kill a God!" Janaya said.

The professor laughed. "These are just _legends_ we're discussing."

"Of course," Dean said, staring at the book, "Yeah, you're right." Dean held his hand out for the professor to shake. "Listen, thank you very much," he said.

"Glad I could help," the professor said, watching Dean go to leave his office. Dean opened the door and was immediately smacked in the face with the butt of the Burkitsville Sheriff's gun so hard that he fell unconscious back into the office. Janaya blinked then did the only thing she could think of. She screamed. Loudly. And as a cloth doused in chloroform covered her mouth and nose and stifled her screams, she hoped Nora had heard her then slipped into unconsciousness.

Nora jumped when she heard Janaya scream and she looked around wildly before turning the keys in the ignition and speeding away from the campus. "Shit, shit, shit," she whispered, fumbling to pull out her cellphone so she could ring Sam. The line was busy. "Fuck!"

OoOoOoO

Janaya woke up in the dark. "Where are we?" she asked.

Dean shrugged. "I dunno, some sort of storm cellar or something."

Janaya sat up and let her eyes adjust to the dark. "Wow, that's a monster bruise on your face," she said. "Are you okay?"

"You mean besides the fact that we're about to be sacrificed to a pagan God?" Yeah, I'm wonderful," Dean said sarcastically.

Janaya rolled her eyes. "Don't panic, Nora's still out there, we'll be fine."

OoOoOoO

"Hey," Meg said, "The bus came in." But Sam was sitting at the table listening to his cellphone.

"You better catch it," Sam said. "I gotta go." He hung up his cellphone and almost immediately, it started ringing. He answered it without checking the caller ID. "Dean?"

"Nope, Nora," Nora said quickly. "You're at the bus station right?"

"Yeah," Sam confirmed.

Nora breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God. I couldn't reach you so I just assumed you were there… look, stay there, I'm coming to get you. Dean and Janaya are in serious trouble."

"Yeah, okay," he said and hung up. "Guess I'm staying here," Sam corrected himself. "Either way I'm not going to California."

Meg frowned. "Sam, wait."

Sam sighed. "I've been trying to call my brother for the last three hours. I'm just getting his voicemail."

"Maybe his phones off," Meg suggested.

"No, that's not like him," Sam said firmly, "Look I don't want you to miss your bus."

"But I don't understand," Meg said. "You're running back to your brother, the guy you ran away from, why? Because he won't pick up his phone?"

"No, because my girlfriend just called and told me that Dean and Janaya are in trouble so she's coming to get me."

"Sam, come, with me to California," Meg pressed. "Your girlfriend can look after your brother."

"I can't," Sam said apologetically.

"Sam!" a frantic Nora cried as she ran into the bus station. "Come on!"

OoOoOoO

Dean banged against the cellar door in an attempt to get it open.

"What we need," Janaya said thoughtfully, "is a werewolf or a vampire. You know, to open the door." Dean gave her a strange look and stopped banging against the door. "Ooh! Or Tom Welling!"

Dean frowned. "Who?"

The cellar door opened and Scotty, the Sheriff and the Jorgesons stood outside wielding guns.

"It's time," Mrs Jorgeson said.

Janaya and Dean looked at each other then Dean leant forward and kissed Janaya deeply. "You know," Dean told a slightly breathless Janaya as they were dragged out of the cellar, "Just in case Nora and Sam fall through."

"How many people have you killed, Sheriff?" Dean asked as he was bound to a tree in the orchard. "How much blood is on your hands?"

"We don't kill them," the Sheriff said defensively.

"No but you sure cover up after," Dean accused. "I mean, how many cars have you hidden, clothes have you buried?" The Sheriff glared then took his place behind Dean, pointing a shotgun at him.

"Well this is ironic," Janaya muttered as Scotty stood behind her with a shotgun pointed at her. "I meet a God of my religion, I mean how many people can actually say that, and now I'm about to be sacrificed to him."

Dean laughed. "Not many people can say that either."

"Will you two shut up?" Scotty asked but they ignored him.

"I'm also dying a virgin," Janaya sighed, "Can't say that doesn't suck." The townspeople all turned away and left the orchard.

"I hope your apple pie is freaking worth it!" Dean called after them.

Janaya sighed. "So… what's the plan?" she asked.

Dean strained against the ropes. "I'm working on it.  
SUNDOWN  
"You don't have a plan, do you?" Janaya asked.

"I'm working on it," Dean insisted then turned to Janaya. "I don't see you coming up with anything!" Janaya shrugged and Dean sighed. "Can you see?"

"What?"

"Is he moving yet?"

Janaya craned her neck around the tree but shook her head. "Nah, I can't see." Loud footsteps came from behind them and Janaya turned to see what was coming. "Oh my God," she whispered.

"What?" Janaya didn't answer so Dean started struggling against the ropes.

"Dean? Janaya?" Sam's voice asked, coming between the trees they were tied to. Nora went to untie Janaya and Sam untied Dean.

"I take everything back I said," Dean breathed as he felt the ropes around his wrists loosen. "I'm so happy to see you."

Janaya hugged Nora tightly (Nora had thought to use a knife so Janaya was already free)"Way to go, Nor," she said, grinning. "Saving the day's becoming a habit for you isn't it?" Nora laughed.

"So how'd you get here so fast?" Dean asked, Sam still hadn't set him free.

Sam laughed. "You should see Nora drive. She's insane. But don't worry, the car's fine," he added at the look on Dean's face.

"Keep an eye on the scarecrow," Dean said. He pulled his arms down at last when Sam said,

"What scarecrow?"

Janaya spun around and saw that the scarecrow had indeed gone from his post.

Dean, Sam, Janaya and Nora ran as fast as they could towards the road.

"Alright, so this sacred tree you're talking about?"

"It's the source of its power," Dean explained.

"So let's find it and burn it," Sam suggested.

"No, in the morning. Let's just get out of here before leather face shows up.

"I second that," Janaya puffed.

The sound of a shotgun being cocked stopped them in their tracks. They turned towards a bright flashlight and saw the Jorgeson couple and within moments they were surrounded by the rest of the town leaders.

"What did we do to you?" Janaya asked.

"Nothing," Mrs Jorgeson admitted, "but our town needs to be saved."

"Bullshit, this town needs to learn to be independent."

"No," Mr Jorgeson said. "There's no other –" he was cut off by the scarecrow's blade slicing through him. Mrs Jorgeson screamed, Janaya jumped and said, "Holy fuck!" and Nora tried not to faint. Mrs Jorgeson was too busy screaming to defend herself and the scarecrow grabbed her and dragged her and her husband off into the trees. The other townspeople scattered and Dean, Sam, Janaya and Nora made their way out of the orchard quickly. They turned back to make sure no one was following and could still hear Mrs Jorgeson's screams.

OoOoOoO

"I feel sorry for that Emily girl," Janaya said as she looked at the trees in the orchard, trying to find the 'Sacred' one. "I mean, she had no idea that the people she loved were killers and now she has no one."

"Hey, I think I found it," Nora said, touching a tree lightly with the palm of her hand.

Janaya looked at the tree closely. "Yeah, look at these markings," she said," and can you feel that power?"

Nora nodded the turned to Sam who was carrying the gas can. "This is the one," she said, "If we burn this, then the Vanir will be rendered powerless and banished from the scarecrow."

Sam began dousing the tree in gasoline and Dean picked up a long stick that had been splashed. He lit the end on fire then turned to tree. "Do I say anything or…?"

"No, Dean," Janaya said, "just set the bitch on fire."

Dean shrugged and tossed the sick onto the tree which, because of the gasoline, immediately caught fire. They stood there and watched one of the most powerful things they've ever come across burn to the ground.

OoOoOoO

"So can I drop you off somewhere?" Dean asked Sam as the walked back to the car behind the girls. Nora turned around and looked at Sam who met her eye then turned back to Dean.

"Nah, I think you're stuck with me," he said.

"In that case, you girls get in the car and Sam and I will get some food for the road."

Janaya and Nora did as they were told, leaving their doors open to let some air in. Janaya was almost relaxed enough to sleep when a twittering bird flew into the car. She stared at it for a while as it perched on the drivers seat head rest then her eyes widened.

"Nora, is that what I think it is?" she asked.

"That depends on what you think it is," Nora said, barely noticing it.

"I think it's a fantail."

Nora's eyes shot open and she stared at the bird then shook her head. "Fantails have, you know, a fanned tail." The bird immediately fanned its tail out and fixed Janaya with a piercing stare. "Well, it doesn't mean anything, Jay," Nora continued, "It's just a superstition."

"You know I'd love to believe you, Nor, I really would," Janaya sighed. "The one problem with your theory is that you can't get fantails in America!" Janaya nearly hyperventilated and Nora slid an arm around her shoulders.

"It'll be okay, Janaya," Nora said soothingly. Sam and Dean came back, Dean sliding into the drivers seat, causing the bird to fly away. Janaya nearly burst into tears.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked, frowning at her in concern.

Nora nodded. "She's fine, just a little tired."

Dean didn't stop frowning but all the same he turned back to the steering wheel, turning the keys in the ignition and speeding out of Indiana.

**By the way, if anyone wants to know what this particular fantail looks like, there's a link on my profile to a picture.**


	7. Faith

**Authors Note: Sorry this took so long, i had other stuff to do. School, exams, you know... Anyway, as promised, I dedicate this chapter to Hansi because she rules and has been waiting for ever for this late chapter. **

OoOoOoO

Seeing that Janaya and Nora were conveniently preoccupied, Dean took the opportunity to load up the Impala without having to explain his choice in weapons. They were worrying too much, he couldn't tell them.

"Dean?" Janaya asked, coming out of the motel room. Dean shut the trunk quickly and turned around to give her an innocent look. "What's in the trunk?" she asked suspiciously.

Dean shrugged. "Just some stuff, you know…"

Janaya frowned at him then pushed him out of the way. She opened the trunk and pulled out a gun she hadn't seen before. "What's this?"

Dean smiled nervously. "It's a gun, Jay, what's the problem?"

Janaya looked at Dean closely. "Please don't lie to me."

Dean sighed. "Okay, fine, I'm sorry but I didn't want you to worry any more than you already are," he admitted.

"Why, what is this?"

Dean hesitated. "It's… it's a taser gun, well, technically it's a super-taser."

Janaya frowned. "A super-taser?" What voltage is it?"

"Ahundredthousand," Dean muttered quickly, hoping she wouldn't hear.

"A hundred thousand volts?" she shrieked. "After what I told you? Are you insane?"

"I'm sorry, Jay, but superstition doesn't worry me," he said, holding her shoulders gently. "And that's all it is, superstition."

"I want to believe that, Dean, I really do but…I just have a really bad feeling about this."

Dean puller her into a tight hug. "I'll be fine, I promise." Janaya looked up at him and he bent down and kissed her. "Now, you and Nora are staying here while we go right?"

Janaya nodded. "Only because you've given us no choice," she said, trying to laugh.

Dean smiled. "That's my girl."

Sam came out of the motel. "Ready to go?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah," he let go of Janaya and went to get into the car. He turned back and saw she still wasn't convinced. "I'll be fine," he assured her then slid into the drivers seat of the Impala and sped off. Janaya sighed and went back into the motel room to wait with Nora.

"You okay?" Nora asked as Janaya sat down on one of the beds.

Janaya shook her head. "No," she admitted. "They're using tasers, Nor, tasers amped up to a hundred thousand volts.

"Shit," Nora whispered. "But they're professionals, Jay, I'm sure they'll both be fine." Janaya's mood did not improve. "Look, I'll make us something to eat," Nora said, getting up and going into the kitchen part of the room. "I bought some spaghetti this morning. It won't be as good as Watties back home but I could make some spaghetti on toast and some hot chocolate and we can sit in front of the TV and pretend it's like how it used to be."

Janaya looked up at Nora and saw an almost pleading look in her eye. She smiled. "You're right, Nor, they'll be fine. Bring on the nostalgia."

OoOoOoO

Janaya and Nora had fallen asleep in front of the TV, spaghetti sauce staining the plates they had left on the floor. Janaya's cellphone rang for the millionth time but this time it woke her up and she hurried to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Janaya! I've been trying to call you for hours, what happened?"

"Sam?" Janaya asked. "We were asleep. What's the problem?"

"I'm in the hospital. Dean got hurt, like really hurt. They're only just letting me see him now."

Janaya closed her eyes and willed herself not to cry. "Can you wait for us? We'll only be a few minutes."

There was a brief silence then, "Okay, but hurry." And he hung up. Janaya scrambled to her feet and tripped over Nora who jolted awake.

"What's going on?" she asked sleepily.

Janaya frantically pulled on some shoes. "We have to go to the hospital. Now." Nora didn't even bother asking why, she just pulled her shoes on and followed Janaya out the door.

Janaya reached the edge of the road and hailed a cab, to her relief one pulled over immediately. "How far to the hospital?" Janaya asked, pulling on her seat belt.

"About a ten minute drive," the cabby said. Janaya pulled out her wallet and pulled out a hundred dollar bill.

"This is yours if you get us there in five."

The cabby looked from Janaya to the note in her hand and back again. "Done," he said and sped off towards the hospital. Nora was almost as worried as Janaya so she didn't even wonder why Janaya just happened to have a hundred dollar bill in her wallet.

Five minutes later they were running inside the hospital after having paid the cabby his hundred dollars.

"Sam!" Janaya called, seeing Sam walking away from some police officers. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "I wasn't there, all I know is he got really badly electrocuted."

Janaya closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "Do you know what it did to him?"

Sam shook his head. "I thought I'd wait for you before I asked."

Janaya nodded and Sam led her and Nora over to who they assumed was Dean's doctor.

"Hey, doc, is he…?" Sam asked.

"He's resting," the doctor said. He looked at Janaya and Nora and frowned.

"Oh this is Janaya, Dean's girlfriend, and Nora, my girlfriend," Sam explained quickly.

The doctor nodded. "The electrocution triggered a heart attack," he continued. "Pretty massive, I'm afraid, his heart is… damaged."

"How damaged?" Janaya asked shakily.

"We've done all we can," the doctor admitted sadly. "We can try and keep him comfortable at this point but I give him a couple of weeks at most, maybe a month."

"Oh god," Janaya whispered, finally breaking down into tears onto Sam's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her comfortingly.

"There's got to be something you can do," Sam said, tears in his own eyes, "some kind of treatment…"

"We can't work miracles," the doctor said. "I really am sorry."

Sam shook his head and led Janaya and Nora passed the doctor and towards Dean's room. Dean was forlornly flicking through channels on the TV when they saw him. Janaya had to refrain from turning away. His face was very pale except for the area around his eyes which was red. He looked so broken and Janaya could hardly bear seeing him like that.

"Have you ever watched daytime TV?" Dean asked, "It's terrible."

"Dean," Janaya whispered. "Why didn't you listen to me?"

Dean sighed and turned the TV off. "I'm sorry, Jay, but I can't let fear for my own safety interfere with helping people. There's always a chance things'll go south when we're on a job. This time…just… I guess luck wasn't on my side."

"I just don't think I can handle going through this again," she said," it's not fair."

Dean laughed. "I guess you're cursed or something." Janaya burst into silent tears again and left the room, Nora shooting a glare at Dean before following her. Dean sighed. "Look, take care of her okay?" I don't want her doing anything stupid when I die."

Sam shook his head. "Don't talk like that, alright?" We still have options."

"Options?" Dean asked incredulously. "Yeah, burial or cremation." Sam gave him an almost disgusted look. "I know it's not easy," Dean said," but I'm gonna die, and you can't stop it."

Sam's face grew determined. "Watch me."

OoOoOoO

"Jay, wait!" Nora called after Janaya. "He didn't mean it! It's just how he deals with stuff like this, you know that."

Janaya stopped running and turned back to Nora. "I know but…" she trailed off, unsure of how to put her thoughts into words. "I'm a coward okay?"

Nora looked confused. "What? I've seen you take on way tougher things than this."

Janaya shook her head. "That's just it, for me, this is as tough as it gets. I don't actually handle grief particularly well. You saw me after your parents' death. They weren't even related to me and I couldn't handle it. Then there was Seth and that nearly drove me insane…" she trailed off again. "When I say I don't think I can handle going through this again, I'm perfectly serious, I don't know how well my sanity would hold up if Dean died."

Nora sighed and pulled Janaya into a hug. "We'll figure something out," she assured her. "I promise."

OoOoOoO

Janaya wandered out of the bedroom and found Sam with his laptop open and surrounded by different papers all about heart disease and how to fix it. He was on the phone and Nora was reading through one of the papers.

"What's all this?" Janaya asked.

Nora smiled. "I told you we'd figure something out," she said.

Sam hung up his phone and dropped it. He turned to Janaya and smiled. "Hey, you're finally awake."

Janaya looked down at the floor. "I know, I'm a useless girlfriend who falls to pieces when her boyfriend needs her most," she said rubbing her eyes.

Sam laughed. "Not quite what I was gonna say, but if you say –" he was cut off by someone knocking on the door. Slowly, he got to his feet and went to answer the door. He found Dean leaning against the wall outside the morel room.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked.

"I checked myself out," Dean said, slowly making his way into the motel room.

"What, are you crazy?"

"I'm not gonna die in a hospital when the nurses aren't even hot," Dean said. "Speaking of hot, where's Janaya?" Janaya waved weakly from where she was standing and Dean smiled. "Is that all I get?" Janaya smiled wanly and moved over to him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"You suck," she whispered to him, making him laugh.

"I know," he whispered back. He pulled back from the hug and lowered himself slowly into the seat nearest to him. He looked up at Sam and frowned. "Jeez, have you slept at all?" he asked. "You look worse than me."

Sam laughed. "Well, I've been on the Internet for the past three days looking for ways to cure you."

Dean groaned. "And? Did you actually find anything?"

"Actually yes," Sam said. Dean's eyes widened in surprise. "One of dad's friends, Joshua, called me back and told me about this guy from Nebraska, a specialist."

"You're not gonna let me die in peace are you?"

"I'm not gonna let you die, period," Sam said firmly. "We're going."

Dean shook his head. "Can't we just leave it as is?" he asked. "What happens if this guy falls through and you all got your hopes up for nothing?"

Janaya put a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Please, Dean, I don't know what's so different about this specialist but at the moment I'm willing to try anything."

Dean sighed. "Fine, but I'm doing this for you," he asserted. "Don't be surprised when I'm not magically cured."

OoOoOoO

Nebraska was rainy and muddy and not at all pleasant. Janaya and Nora climbed out of the car and looked at the sign outside of the large white tent. Sam was helping a protesting Dean out of the car.

"Man, you're a lying bastard," Dean said angrily. "I thought you said we were going to see a doctor."

"I believe I said a specialist," Sam countered. "Look, Dean, This guy's supposed to be the real deal."

"I can't believe you brought me here to see someone who heals people out of a tent!"

Janaya frowned. "As much as I want Dean better," she said, "I'm with him; I don't think this is such a good idea. It feels wrong."

"Great, can we go now?" Dean said, turning to go back to the car.

Sam grabbed him. "No, Dean, this is our best bet."

"I have a right to protest," a man was saying to a pair of policemen. "This man is a fraud! He's milking all these good people out of there hard earned money!"

"I take it he's not part of the flock," Dean muttered, now holding Janaya's hand as they continued towards the tent.

"Well, when people see something they can't explain, there's controversy," Sam reminded him.

"But come on, Sam, a faith healer?"

"Maybe it's time to have a little faith, Dean."

"You know what I got faith in?" Dean asked, "Reality. Knowing what's really going on."

Janaya frowned thoughtfully. "Actually, Dean, I have no doubt that this will work."

Dean looked at her in surprise. "But you said this was a bad idea and that it felt wrong."

"I know, that's why I know it will work," she explained. "If this was all a hoax, then I wouldn't feel weird about it."

"So you're saying this is evil?" he asked.

Janaya shook her head. "Not necessarily evil just… wrong."

"You've lost me," he said.

"Why do you always assume evil?" Sam asked, frustrated. "If you believe in evil, why not good?"

"Because I've seen what evil does to good people," Dean told him.

"Maybe God works in mysterious ways," said a blonde woman, about Dean's age.

Dean smiled at her. "Maybe he does. "Janaya frowned and squeezed Dean's hand, hard. "Ow! I mean, I'm Dean, this is my brother Sam," Dean said to the woman. "And these are our girlfriends Janaya and Nora."

The woman smiled back. "I'm Layla," she said. "So if you're not a believer, then why are you here?"

"Apparently my brother here believes enough for all of us."

"Come on, Layla, it's about to start," an older woman said, leading Layla into the tent.

Dean and Janaya were about to sit at the back but Sam and Nora stopped them. "Guys, we're sitting up front," Nora told them.

"What? Why? Dean and Janaya asked at the same time.

"Just come on," Sam said, pulling Dean up to the front of the audience.

"Come on, Sam," Dean moaned then breathed in sharply.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked worriedly.

"This is ridiculous," Dean hissed. "Dude, get off me."

Sam found a spot in the second row, just big enough for all four of them. Nora sat down first, then Sam, then Janaya then finally a still grumbling Dean. An old man with dark glasses was standing on the stage; presumably he was the Reverend Roy LeGrange, the man they had come to see.

"Every morning, my wife, Sue-Ann, reads me the news," Roy began, "Never seems good does it. "There was a murmur of agreement throughout the crowd. "Seems like there's always someone committing some immoral, unspeakable act. But I say to you: God is watching." The murmur of agreement was louder and more enthusiastic. "God rewards the good and punishes the corrupt. It is the Lord who does the healing here friends, the Lord who guides me in choosing who to heal by helping me see into their hearts."

"Yeah, that or their wallets," Dean muttered. Janaya frowned at him.

"You think so young man?" Roy asked.

Dean looked up at Roy, surprised he had heard. "Sorry," he said.

"No, no, don't be," Roy said, smiling. "Just watch what you say around a blind man with real sharp ears." The crowd laughed. "What's your name son?" Dean hesitated before relinquishing his name. "Dean," Roy repeated thoughtfully, "I want you to some up here with me. "The crowd burst into applause, much to Dean's discomfort.

"No, it's okay," he said.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked, leaning over Janaya who pushed him back.

"You've come to be healed haven't you?" Roy asked, still smiling.

Dean hesitated again. "Well, yeah, but –" the crows started applauding again. "Maybe you should just pick someone else!"

Roy shook his head. "No, I didn't pick you, Dean, the Lord did."

Dean looked at Janaya for help and she looked at him closely. His condition had not improved since he'd let the hospital. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Go, Dean," she said so quietly that he could hardly hear her over the cheering crowd. "Please?"

Dean sighed and grudgingly stood up and went on stage. "Are you ready?" Roy asked.

"No disrespect," Dean said, "But I'm not much of a believer."

Roy smiled. "You will be, son, you will be. "He turned to the audience. "Pray with me friends," he said. The people in the crowd raised their hands and closed their eyes in prayer. Roy raised his hands too and slowly, his right hand moved to the side of Dean's head, which made Dean slightly uncomfortable. "All right now," Roy said and Dean started feeling dizzy. "All right now." Roy was barely touching him yet Dean was forced to his knees.

"All right now," Roy said again and Dean fell backwards, away from the reverend. The crowd started clapping but Sam and Janaya got to their feet, worried. Janaya was closer so she ran from her seat to the stage, trying to wake Dean up. Dean gasped and sat up suddenly, looking around in confusion. He saw something behind Roy and blinked a couple of times before he could see what it was, an old man in a suit with no eyes and grey-green skin.

OoOoOoO

Janaya was pacing the new motel room and it was starting to get on Nora's nerves.

"Jay! Can you not?" she snapped finally.

Janaya stopped pacing. "Sorry, I just… why do we always have to wait behind? I swear one of these days I'll have an anxiety attack and die."

Nora sighed. "Not always, just this case," she corrected. "And it's because you're so worried. You would have gotten in the way if you'd been at the house with them and the hospital has enough spastic relatives as it is."

Janaya frowned at her. "And you're stuck here with me because?"

Nora smiled. "Well, a) you'd go crazy without me," Janaya made a face at her, "and b) I have to stop you from going after them anyway."

"And they told you this?"

"No, they're just easy to read."

Janaya sighed and was about to say something when the door opened and the boys walked in.

"So?" Janaya asked before they were even properly inside the door.

Sam looked from Dean to Janaya and cleared his throat. "Nora and I will go to the library or something and check out your theory," he told Dean, then grabbed Nora's hand and left the room again.

Janaya frowned as Dean went into the bedroom and dumped his jacket on the end of the bed. "What theory?" she asked, following him in.

Dean shrugged, "I'll fill you in later," he said, moving closer to her. "Right now though…" he bent down and kissed her. Janaya wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. "So," Dean said when they'd finally pulled apart. "Are you okay?"

Janaya laughed. "Am _I_ okay?" she asked. "You're the one who had a heart attack."

Dean thought for a moment then nodded. "This is true. But hey, I was at a loss for what to say," he admitted.

Janaya shook her head. "Let me help you," she laughed. "Finish this sentence 'Sam and I went to the hospital and the Doctor said that…'"

"That there's absolutely nothing wrong with me and there is no sign that their ever was," Dean said before being pulled into another deep kiss. Dean kissed back then tentatively slid his hand under her top waiting for her to push his hand away as she so often did when they were in this situation. But she didn't, in fact, she kissed him harder. Grinning slightly, Dean nudged the door closed with his foot then lifted Janaya onto the bed.

OoOoOoO

"So what theory are we checking out?" Nora asked Sam as he drove towards the local swimming pool.

"Dean thinks he saw something, some kind of spirit, when he was healed," Sam explained.

Nora frowned. "Was he old? Wearing a suit?" she asked.

Sam looked at her. "I don't know, you'd have to ask Dean," he told her. "Did you see it too?"

"I think so," Nora said. "So why the swimming pool?"

"The doctor that checked Dean told us that a young guy about twenty-seven died of a heart attack there. Dean has a bad feeling about it so we're gonna check it out," Sam said.

Nora nodded. "And Jay and Dean can't do this themselves because…?"

Sam laughed. "Didn't you see the way Dean was looking at Janaya? Trust me, it's better that we're not there right now."

Nora looked at him for a moment then laughed. "That is, if he gets what he wants, Sam."

OoOoOoO

Janaya lay against Dean, semi-covered by blankets with Dean's arm around her, feeling safer than she had in a very long time. Dean stretched slightly then smiled. "That was fun," he said.

Janaya laughed. "We should have done that a while ago," she admitted.

Dean grinned. "We could always do it again," he said, pulling her on top of him and kissing her. His hands slid to her lower back and traced the tattoo of intricate swirls and shapes on the small of her back. Dean's cellphone chose that moment to ring. Groaning with frustration, Janaya sat up and Dean reached for his cellphone. He glanced the caller id then flicked his phone open. "This better be important," he said.

"Yeah, sorry," Sam said, "but you may be right. I'm not sure though. I need you to go and visit the reverend.  
"Right this very second?"

Sam laughed. "No, you can put clothes on first."

Dean sighed. "Fine," he said then hung up his phone.

"What's going on?" Janaya asked.

Dean dropped his phone onto the floor. "We have to go talk to the reverend apparently."

"Is this about that theory you have yet to explain to me?" Janaya asked, rolling to the side. Dean nodded. "Well in that case, I'll get dressed and you…" She examined him for a moment. "You go take a cold shower." Dean hit her with a pillow then got up to do as he was told.

OoOoOoO

"So how are you feeling, Dean?" Roy's wife, Sue-Ann, asked as she poured tea.

"Oh, I feel fine," he said, wishing Janaya had come with him instead of deciding to wait for Sam and Nora. "I'm just trying to, you know, make sense of what happened."

"A miracle's what happened," Sue-Ann said, sitting down. "Oh, well, miracles come so often around Roy."

Dean nodded thoughtfully. "When did they start? The miracles."

"I woke up one morning stone blind," Roy said. "Doctors figured I had cancer, told me I had maybe a month. So we prayed for a miracle. I was weak but I told Sue-Ann, you just keep right on praying. I went into a coma. Doctors said I wouldn't wake up but I did and the cancer was gone. If it wasn't for these eyes, no one would believe I ever had it," he finished, taking off his glasses and showing Dean his lightless eyes.

"And suddenly you could heal people," Dean prompted.

"I discovered soon afterwards, yes," Roy said, "God's blessed me in so many ways."

"And his flock just swelled over night," Sue-Ann said. "And this is just the beginning."

Dean nodded. "Can I ask you one last question?" he asked.

"Of course you can," Roy said.

"Why? Why me?" Dean asked. "Out of all the sick people, why save me?"

"Well, like I said before, the Lord guides me. Your heart just stood out from all the rest."

Dean frowned. "Why? What did you see in my heart?"

"A young man with an important purpose, a job to do, and it isn't finished."

OoOoOoO

As Dean left Roy's house, he bumped into Layla, the girl from outside he tent.

"Dean, hey," she greeted cheerfully.

"Hey," Dean said back.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I feel good, cured, I guess," Dean admitted. "What are you doing here?"

Layla nodded her head towards her mother "Well, you know, my mom wanted to talk to the reverend."

"Layla," Sue-Ann greeted from the top of the porch.

"Yes, I'm here again," Layla said, walking up the steps to greet Sue-Ann.

"I'm sorry, but Roy's resting. He won't be seeing anyone else right now," Sue-Ann told her.

"Sue-Ann, please," Layla's mother pleaded. "This is our sixth time; he's got to see us."

"Roy's well aware of Layla's situation and he very much wants to help just as soon as the Lord allows," Sue-Ann assured her. "Have faith Mrs Rourk." Sue-Ann smiled then went back into the house.

Layla's mother turned around and glared at Dean who tried to hide his surprised look. "Why are you still even here?" she asked. "You got what you wanted."

"Mom," Layla interrupted. "Stop."

Mrs Rourk turned back to her daughter. "No, Layla, this is too much. We've been to every single service. If Roy would stop healing theses strangers over you, strangers who don't even believe." She resumed glaring at Dean. "I just can't pray any harder."

Dean turned to Layla. "Layla, what's wrong?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I have this thing," she said dismissively.

"It's a brain tumour," Mrs Rourk corrected. "It's inoperable. In six months the doctors say…" she trailed off when Layla touched her shoulder gently.

Dean looked at the ground. "I'm sorry," he said.

"It's okay," Layla said, trying to smile.

"No, it isn't," Mrs Rourk said. She glared at Dean. "Why do you deserve to live more than my daughter?"

OoOoOoO

When Dean got back to the motel room, he found Sam typing away at his laptop, Janaya flicking through books and Nora doodling on a note pad. "So what did you find out?" he asked. "It better be good because my mood turned to crap after my visit whit Roy."

Sam looked up at him. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Sorry about what?" Dean asked, sitting down, "My mood?"

Sam shook his head. "The clock near where Marshall Hall died stopped at the time of his death. It was 4:17."

"The exact time I was healed," Dean said.

"Yeah," Sam said. "So, I put together a list of people Roy's healed, six people over the last year, and I cross check them with the local obits. Every time someone was healed, someone else died. And each time, the victim died of the same symptom LeGrange was healing at the time."

Dean frowned. "So if someone is cured of cancer, someone else dies of cancer?"

Sam nodded. "Somehow, LeGrange is trading a life for another."

"Wait, Marshall Hall died to save me?" Dean asked.

"Dean that guy probably would have died anyway and someone else would have been healed."

Dean stood up angrily, making Nora and Janaya jump. "You never should have brought me here."

"Dean, I was just trying to save your life," Sam reasoned.

"But, Sam, some guy is dead now because of me!"

"Dean," Janaya said calmly, moving over to Dean and placing her hands on his arms. "He didn't know. None of us did. Just calm down and we can figure this out." Dean looked at her for a long moment then finally nodded and sat back down.

"The thing I don't understand is how is Roy doing it?" Sam asked. "How's he trading a life for a life?"

"He's not doing it," Janaya said, picking up the book she'd been looking at. "No human has that kind of power, hell, my mother doesn't even have that kind of power. The only thing that could be doing it is this guy right here." She pointed to a picture in the book. An 18th century artists rendering of the Grim Reaper.

"The reaper?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Not the reaper, _a_ reaper," Nora corrected, standing up and handing her notebook to Dean. "More specifically, this reaper." She had drawn a picture of the man she'd seen on stage.

"This is the guy I saw on stage!" Dean said, surprised. "This is really good."

Nora smiled. "Thanks."

Sam shook his head. "I'm still not with you."

Janaya sighed. "There is so much Reaper lore and they go by so many different names that it's hard to pick up immediately but the basics are all the same," she explained. "Reaper's stop time –"

"And you said the clock stopped when Marshall Hall died," Dean interrupted.

"And you can only see them when they're coming at you," Janaya continued.

"Which explains why I could see it and you couldn't," Dean pointed out.

Sam nodded. "So how do you explain Nor seeing it?"

"Easy," Janaya said. "She's a medium; it only makes sense that she'd be able to see death as well as the dead."

"Maybe…"

"Come on, Sam, there's nothing else it could be, the question is: how's he controlling it?" Nora said.

Sam frowned. "The cross…" he whispered.

"What?" Dean asked.

"There was this cross thing in the church tent," Sam explained. "I knew I'd seen it somewhere…" he started flicking through the pile of cards next to him. He pulled out one of the cards and showed it to the rest of the group. Dean took the card and frowned at it.

"Tarot?"

Janaya took the card from Dean. "The Death card," she whispered. She looked at the staff behind Dean which bore a Coptic cross. "Oh, that makes sense."

"What?" Dean asked.

"Tarot dates back to the early Christian era," Sam explained. "When some priests were still using magic, a few of them veered into the dark stuff, necromancy, how to push Death away, how to cause it."

Dean nodded. "So Roy's using black magic to bind the reaper."

"If he is, he's messing with some dangerous stuff," Janaya said. "I mean, binding a reaper or anything that powerful for that matter is like putting a dog leash on a Great White; hard to do and hard to keep. There's no telling when the Reaper will break free." She paused then brightened. "That's it!"

Everyone frowned. "What's what?" Nora asked.

"I've been trying to figure out how to stop Roy and the only way I could think of was to kill him which, of course, is out of the question."

"Why?" Dean asked.

"He's a human being, Dean, killing him would only make us as bad as him," Janaya said firmly. "No, all we have to do is break whatever spell he's using to bind the Reaper and the problems solved."

OoOoOoO

They pulled up by the church tent and quickly got out of the car. "If Roy's using a spell, there's probably a spell book," Janaya told them.

"Great," Dean said. "Sam, Nora, you guys see if you can find it, we'll try and stall Roy. You got fifteen minutes."

Sam nodded and he and Nora were about to leave when they were all stopped by the protestor. "Roy LeGrange is a fraud," he said, handing them fliers. "He's no healer."

"Amen brother," Dean said, handing his flier to Janaya.

"You keep up the good work," Sam added before turning away.

"Thank you," the protestor said then moved on to the other gatherers.

OoOoOoO

Sam and Nora hovered out of sight by Roy's house, watching him go, accompanied by Sue-Ann and a body guard. When they were sure the coast was clear, Sam opened a side window and climbed through. He helped Nora in then made sure the window wouldn't fall closed in case they needed to get out quickly. Sam broke is way into a tidy study that didn't look like it had been used in a while. Nora immediately moved over to the book case and frowned.

"Let's see what the Reverend's been reading lately," she said and examined the dust on the shelves. At one point the dust on the shelves stopped then started again after the book "The Encyclopaedia of Christian History." Nora pulled it out and passed it to Sam who flicked through it and found nothing but behind where the book had been was another much smaller book. Still frowning, Nora pulled it out and flicked through it. "Wow," she said. "This is _really_ dark stuff." Sam took the book off Nora and flicked through it himself. On one particular page, he saw the same Coptic cross from the Church and a small collection of newspaper clippings. Nora took them and read the headlines out loud. "_Openly Gay Teacher Wins Lawsuit, Local Abortion Rights Activist Calls For End to Violence Against Women_, and _Wright: Local Church a Cult._ Well, I guess we know how he's choosing his victims."

OoOoOoO

Dean and Janaya stood on the sides as crowds of excited believers sat down and chatted amongst themselves. Dean's cellphone rang and he hastily answered it. "What've you got?"

"Roy's choosing victims he sees as immoral," Sam told him. "And I think I know who's next on his list. Remember that protester?"

"The guy in the parking lot?"

"Yeah, we'll find him," Sam said. "But you can't let Roy heal any one, alright?"

Dean hung up. "What's happening?" Janaya asked. Dean told her the basic jist of the conversation. "How the hell are we gonna stop him? No ones going to believe that it kills people," Janaya pointed out. "And even if they do, they might be desperate enough not to care!"

"I know," Dean muttered, "but what else can we do?" But when Roy called Layla's name, Dean was at a loss.

"Dean, what's wrong with Layla?" Janaya asked.

"She has a brain tumour," he whispered," and six months to live."

"Shit," Janaya whispered. When Layla passed them, Janaya grabbed her arm. "Layla you can't go up there," she whispered, angry at herself for having to do this.

"Why not we've waited for months," she said, confused.

"You can't let Roy heal you," Dean said firmly.

Layla frowned. "I don't understand, I mean, Roy healed you didn't he? Why shouldn't I at least let him try?"

"Because if you do, something bad is gonna happen," Dean pleaded. "We can't explain, we just need you to believe us."

"Layla," Sue-Ann called kindly. Layla looked from Sue-Ann's out stretched hand to her mother's encouraging face then to Dean and Janaya who both had pleading looked in their eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said and ran off to Sue-Ann.

"Layla!" Dean hissed but either she didn't hear him or she chose to ignore him as she stepped on stage.

"Dammit," Dean whispered.

"We'll think of something," Janaya assured him.

OoOoOoO

"Help!" someone called frantically from the middle of the parking lot. Sam and Nora ran towards the scream and found the protestor. Nora saw the reaper chasing him and started running towards him, San following close behind. The Reaper was almost on top of him but the time they reached him but Sam managed to grab him and run. Nora stayed back to fend off the Reaper but he walked right through her.

"Shit."

OoOoOoO

Dean and Janaya wandered to the back of the tent, planning as they went. Roy's hand was about to touch Layla's head when Dean yelled "Fire!" and Roy hesitated. "Everybody get out of here!" Dean continued. The believers panicked and ran quickly out of the tent except for Mrs Rourk who was on stage pleading with Roy not to stop healing Layla.

Janaya pulled out her phone and rang Nora. "We stopped Roy," she told her when Nora had picked up.

Nora looked up at Sam and nodded.

"Hey, I think it's okay," Sam said to the protestor. Nora turned around and screamed and dropped her phone as she saw the Reaper coming back. The Reaper pushed the protestor to his knees and drained his face and eyes of colour. Nora dropped to the ground and grabbed her phone.

"Jay! It didn't work. The Reaper's still here!"

"Dean!" Janaya said. "It didn't work!"

"What?"

"Roy must not be controlling it!" Nora told Janaya who repeated the message to Dean.

"Well then who the hell is it?"

Janaya shrugged then looked around the tent. In the corner, facing away from them, was Sue-Ann muttering away. "Sue-Ann," she whispered, hanging up. Dean was already at Sue-Ann turning her around, forcing her to drop her Coptic cross pendant.

"Help! Help me!" she screamed and suddenly two police officers leapt on Dean and pulled him out of the tent.

Back in the parking lot, Nora watched the Reaper let go of protestor and walk away.

OoOoOoO

Sue-Ann followed Dean and the officers out of the tent and frowned at him, Janaya stood a little way behind her. "I just don't understand," Sue Ann said. "After all we've done for you, after Roy healed you. I'm just very disappointed, Dean." Dean gave her a bored look. "You can let him go officers, I'm not going to press charges. The Lord'll deal with him as he sees fit." Sue-Ann walked off and Janaya came over to Dean.

"We catch you 'round here again, son, we'll put the fear o' God in you –" he was cut off by Janaya's snort of laughter which she quickly turned into coughing. "Understand?" he finished.

Dean nodded. "Yes sir, fear o' God, got it." The officers threw him forward and he turned around to see Layla looking hurt and confused.

"Layla?" Dean asked, Janaya hung back.

"Why did you do that, Dean?" she asked. "I mean, it could've been my only chance."

"He's not a healer."

"He healed you!"

Dean frowned at that. "I know it doesn't seem fair, and I wish I could explain, but Roy is not the answer, I'm sorry."

Layla looked at him for a moment. "Goodbye, Dean," she said before brushing passed him. He turned to watch her go and she turned back to him. "I wish you luck, I really do."

"Yeah, you too," he called after her. "You deserve it more than me."

Janaya took his hand and led him back to the car. "Come on," she said. "We're not finished yet." As they passed Roy and Sue-Ann, they heard him promise Layla's mother that he would heal Layla privately that night. Considerably shortening the amount of time they had to break the spell.

OoOoOoO

"So Roy really believes," Sam said thoughtfully.

"I don't think he has any idea what his wife is doing," Dean agreed.

"I'm just wondering how none of us considered how the hell a blind man was to read an old spell book," Janaya said, flicking through the book Nora had found. "I mean seriously, are we all really that thick?"

Dean shrugged. "Apparently," he said, "So, what's in the book?"

"Well, from what I've been able to gather, this book is old, like, pre renaissance old and this is some seriously dark stuff," she said. "It was written by a priest who turned dark and contains a spell to bind a reaper, which is really hard."

Nora nodded. "Yeah, you have to make a black altar which is gruesome all on its own," she explained. "You need things like bones and human blood, etcetera. Not pleasant at all."

"And she should have something she uses to control the Reaper when she's not at the altar."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, she's got that Death tarot cross on a necklace. That's what she was muttering to when we caught her."

"Man, to cross the line like that, black magic, murder, evil," Sam said.

Dean looked at him. "Desperate," he corrected. "Her husband was dying; she would've done anything so save him."

"I know the feeling," Janaya said. Dean looked up at her, confused. "I quite like you, Dean Winchester, and I'd like to keep you around a bit longer," she explained. "If Sam hadn't found Roy, I'd have gone to my mother to see what she could do… wow, I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner. I'm sorry."

"But Roy's alive, why's she still using the spell?" Dean asked, getting back to the point.

Sam thought for a moment. "So she can force the Reaper to kill people she thinks are immoral."

"God save us from half the people who think they're doing God's work," Dean muttered.

Sam nodded. "So, to break the spell do we destroy the altar or the necklace?" he asked.

"I'd say both," Janaya said, "Just to be sure."

"Well whatever we do, we'd better do it soon," Dean said. "Roy's healing Layla tonight."

OoOoOoO

When they pulled into the parking lot, it was dark and there were far less cars than before.

"Layla's already here," Nora said, pointing to her car.

"Yeah," Dean said, his face growing taut. "You know, if Roy had picked Layla instead of me, she'd be healed right now."

"Dean…" Janaya said, unsure of how to continue.

"And if she's not healed tonight, she's gonna die in a couple of months."

"Dean," Janaya said again. "What's happening to her is unfair and terrible but maybe it's her time. She has plenty of time to do what she needs to before she moves on and, Dean," she put up her hand to stop him from interrupting, "she's ready to go. She's accepted it. It's in her eyes. It's her mother that can't let go."

"But –"

"Dean, you're alive, let it be, but if we don't stop Sue-Ann, who knows how many people will die needlessly?" Dean sighed and nodded before getting out of the car. The others followed suit and they made their way towards the church tent. Sam and Dean peeked inside but couldn't see Sue-Ann.

"Where is she?" Dean asked.

"The house," Sam said after a moment of thought and they quickly moved away from the tent before they were seen.

OoOoOoO

Dean saw the two cops who had threatened him standing guard outside Roy's house. He stopped and gestured for the others to stay behind. He moved forward into the open. "Hey!" he called. "You gonna put that fear o' God in me?" The cops looked at each other then chased after him as he sprinted away.

Janaya rolled her eyes. "You guys search the house, I'll keep him out of trouble," she told Sam and Nora before running after Dean. Nora nodded and led the way around the house in search of an entrance.

OoOoOoO

Dean hid behind a minivan as he heard the cops' laboured breathing behind him.

"See him?" on of them asked.

"No," the other said.

Dean felt a hand on his shoulder and he suppressed a cry of fright as he turned around and found Janaya standing behind him. "What are you doing here?" he hissed.

"Keeping you out of trouble," Janaya said. Something hit the inside of the minivan window and started barking. Janaya and Dean jumped and looked up to see a large dog inside the minivan.

"Over there!" one of the cops cried and the light from their flashlights got closer.

"Shit," Janaya and Dean whispered in unison. "Hide," Janaya said firmly and Dean climbed on top of the minivan. He disappeared just as the cops appeared and spotted Janaya. She smiled at them. "Evening officers," she greeted cheerfully.

The cops smiled back. "What's a girl like you doing alone at night?" one of them asked as they both moved closer to her.

Janaya rolled her eyes. "What can I say, I like a bit of risk," she said. "Could you two do me a favour?"

The cops grinned. "Anything."

"Look up."

"What?" one of them asked then shrugged. They both looked up and their faces were immediately met with Dean's feet. With confused looks on their faces, they fell to the ground, unconscious. Dean dropped down from atop the minivan and grinned at Janaya.

"Yes, yes well done," she said, laughing at his obvious pride. "Don't we have work to do?" Dean stopped grinning and nodded, running off suddenly. Janaya groaned. "Running is so lame," she said before following.

OoOoOoO

Behind the house was a cellar that a glowing light leaked through. Sam pulled open the doors and turned to Nora. "Ladies first," he said, gesturing for her to go in. Nora gave him a stern look and he sighed and led the way. Inside the cellar, on the far side was a small, black altar. Complete with candles, human blood and bones, a Coptic cross, and a picture of the next victim, Dean.

"I gave your brother life and I can take it away," Sue-Ann said softly from behind them. Nora and Sam turned around and stared at her. Nora was about to point out that Dean wasn't her brother then she realised what Sue-Ann had said and stopped.

"You're insane," she said instead as Sam turned the altar on its side, breaking half the spell it had on the Reaper. He then ran at Sue-Ann but she had already left the cellar and locked them in.

"Can't you see?" she called to them as they tried to push the doors open. "The Lord chose me, to reward the good and punish the wicked. And Dean is wicked and he deserves to die as much as Layla deserves to live!"

Giving up on the doors, Sam and Nora moved away, looking for another exit. Sam found a small window that he wasn't sure either of them would fit through but Nora had found an even better one. "Sam!" she called and pointed up a small flight of stairs that led to a door. Sam ran up the stairs and kicked the door open. Nora ran through it and into the house. She looked around and when she was sure Sue-Ann wasn't here, she gestured Sam through and led the way out of the house.

OoOoOoO

Dean and Janaya made their way towards Roy's house to help Sam and Nora look for Sue-Ann. But just as they got close, the lights they had passed started going out. They turned around to see what was going on. Janaya saw nothing but Dean began to panic as he saw the Reaper coming towards him. He tried to back away but the Reaper was on him before he had the chance and he was forced to his knees.

"Dean?" Janaya asked frantically. "Dean!" she cried as he began choking in pain and the colour began to leave his lips and eyes.

OoOoOoO

Sam and Nora found Sue-Ann standing outside the church tent muttering to her Coptic cross in Latin. Sam ripped it from around her neck, broke it in half and tossed it to the ground. "No!" Sue-Ann cried.

OoOoOoO

The Reaper looked surprised then let Dean go and walked away. "Dean?" Janaya asked. When she heard Dean's breathing become steady again, she sighed with relief, dropped to her knees next to him and wrapped her arms around him. "You have got to stop doing this to me," she laughed, clutching him tightly.

"I don't know," Dean joked," I get some pretty good rewards for surviving…"

Janaya leaned back and hit him then hugged him again. "I love you," she said. Dean didn't reply. He just leaned back and stared at her, unsure how to respond. Janaya just smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek.

OoOoOoO

Nora ran into the church tent to see what was going on. She was just in time to see Layla open her eyes and say, "I don't feel any different," with a confused look on her face. Equally as confused was Roy who looked not only confused but disappointed. The reaction from the crowd was not good.

OoOoOoO

Sue-Ann was kneeling by her broken Coptic cross and crying with Sam looking at her pitilessly. "Oh my God," she whispered, "What have you done?"

"He's not your God," Sam spat. Sue-Ann looked up and saw the Reaper staring at her from across the path, grinning with vengeful glee. Sue-Ann tried to run but the Reaper was beside her immediately, forcing her to her knees. Sam turned away as the Reaper took the life right out of her and left her on the ground. Nora came out of the tent and saw Sue-Ann's dead body then turned away. "Come on, "Sam said, putting his arm around her and leading her back towards the car.

OoOoOoO

"Are you okay?" Sam asked Dean when they were all at the car again.

"Just a little weak," Dean said, leaning against the car and taking a deep breath. Janaya placed her hand comfortingly on his back as he regained his strength. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and the girls took that as their cue to get in the car.

Sam sighed. "Right, let's get out of here," he said. Dean nodded and sped away as fast as he could.


	8. Tiny Naked People With Wings

**Happy New Year everybody! Good luck for 2008.**

OoOoOoO

Ayden Carey grumbled under his breath and kicked stones down the footpath as he walked home from his completely failed date. The woman he had been with had laughed at him rather than his jokes and had made fun of him without actually doing so. Ayden wondered to himself, not for the first time, why he even bothered going on dates these days. Women just didn't get him.

"Ayden…" a soft, female voice called to him. Ayden looked around but couldn't see anyone. He frowned. It was probably that bitch Marretta and her stupid friends playing some kind of joke on him. He shook his head of the voice and continued on home. He wished he'd bothered getting his drivers licence, that way he'd be home by now rather than stumbling in the dark. "Ayden…" the voice called again, this time closer. Ayden still couldn't see anyone and it made him angrier every time he heard the disembodied voice until he cried out in frustration.

"Show yourself!" he yelled into the darkness. Timidly, a woman appeared out from behind a tree that stood in the yard of an abandoned house, it looked familiar to him somehow. The woman had deathly pale skin but it seemed to suit her. Her hair was a dark fiery red and she wore a long, green dress that covered her feet and most of the ground around her. She too looked familiar but when she smiled at him, his brain lost the ability to think clearly and he had trouble remembering where he knew her from.

"Hello, Ayden," she said in a soft voice that seemed to hypnotise him. He smiled dumbly at her but held back, the small part of his brain that was still thinking told him that something was very wrong. "Don't you remember me?" she asked, pouting. The woman moved closer to him, her arms out stretched as if to embrace him. Ayden stared at her, her eyes, her hair it all looked so familiar but... no, it was impossible. "Ayden..." she whispered again and Ayden's eyes widened in horror.

"Kerra," he whispered before finding himself wrapped in her arms and screaming.

OoOoOoO

Janaya was aware of a bright light on the other side of her eyelids and realised she was awake. She opened her eyes and instantly regretted it as sunlight hit her eyes and a wave of nausea threatened to overcome her. She rolled over slightly so that the sunlight was no longer blinding her but the nausea did not subside. She groaned then felt Dean stir beside her and turned her head to look at him. It had been a month or so since his heart attack and the sense of impending doom had faded into the background and was only the niggling notion that she would outlive him considerably. She slowly sat up and felt the nausea dissipate. Now smiling, she slipped out of bed and went into the kitchen to find something to eat.

"Why is it we never buy any real food?" she asked no one in particular when her search resulted in Twinkies, chocolate and something that had begun to grow fur.

"Because real food is overrated," Nora said, snapping off a piece of chocolate and sitting down at the table with Sam's laptop.

"What are you doing?" Janaya asked when Nora stopped clicking and looked very intently at the computer screen. Nora turned the computer around so Janaya could see the screen. Nora had been reading an article about a man found murdered in Coventry, Rhode Island. The body had been found in an abandoned house near the man's own home. The cause of death was not mentioned. "Ayden Carey, 23, at a friends party a week before the murder," Janaya said, reading the caption under the picture next to the article. "They're still looking for the killer, huh."

Nora nodded. "I think this is a case for us," she said, turning the laptop back to face her.

"Really? Why?"

Nora shrugged. "Just a… feeling, I guess."

Janaya thought for a moment. "Well, I've learnt not to take your hunches for granted so I guess we could convince the boys to check it out."

"Check what out?" Dean asked, wandering sleepily into the kitchen.

"We'll explain on the way," Janaya said, heading back to the bedroom to get dressed.

"On the way to where?"

"Rhode Island."

OoOoOoO

With Dean driving, he and Sam listened intently as Nora and Janaya explained about the murder of Ayden Carey.

"And you think this is our kind of thing because…?" Dean asked.

"I told you," Nora said, "It's just a feeling."

Dean nodded. "Okay, so, what's the plan?"

"We check out the body at the morgue to determine the cause of death," Janaya said. "That way we can tell if it's our kind of thing or not."

"Okay, Sam and I will pose as FBI Agents and check it out," Dean said.

Janaya shook her head. "No, it's our turn," she said. Dean looked at her, confused. "You guys always get to have all the fun, I think it's time we had a turn."

Nora nodded. "Yeah, I agree. We can do all the research this time and, should it turn out to be our kind of thing, you can kill it, sound fair?"

Sam and Dean looked at each other then nodded. "Fine," Sam said, "but be careful, don't let whoever you're talking to realise you're lying or we're all in serious trouble."

Janaya laughed. "I'm sure we can handle it."

OoOoOoO

Janaya and Nora, having used their brand new fake FBI ID cards to get into the morgue and look at the body, were talking to the young pathologist who had examined the body when it first arrived.

"So, as you can see, the cuts were almost proffessional. Every single one of them was on a major artery," he pointed to several deep cuts, one on each side of the throat, one on each thigh, one on each wrist etc. "And there is some slight bruising around the edge of each cut to suggest that the killer sucked the blood out at least a little bit."

"So was that the cause of death?" Janaya asked, looking intently at the pathologist. She knew Nora would be carefully examining the body with her own eyes and remembering every tiny detail, even the ones the pathologist had missed.

"Actually no," the pathologist said. "The body doesn't show the usual signs of weakness due to blood loss. When the body first came in I found it very hard to determine the cause of death. However, I did a brain scan and found an unusual amount of Seratonin in the brain for someone who was being murdered. I asked to look at the victim's clothes and found they were covered in semen. From what I can gather, Detective, this man orgasmed to death while having the blood drained out of him by the killer."

Janaya's eyes widened then she relaxed. "Thank you, doctor, you have been very helpful." She gestured to Nora who nodded and followed her out of the morgue.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Janaya asked. Nora simply nodded.

OoOoOoO

"A what?" Sam and Dean asked at the same time.

"A Boabhan Sith," Janaya repeated.

"What the hell is that?" Dean asked.

"It's a Faerie spirit," she explained.

Dean's jaw dropped. "A what?"

"You're telling me that you've spent you're whole lives hunting the supernatural and yet you haven't come across a Faerie or a Faerie spirit?" Janaya asked.

"You mean like a tiny naked person with wings?"

"No, Dean," Nora interrupted. "Faeries are from Irish and Scottish folklore and they can vary in size from two inches to over ten feet but usually they are the same size as humans."

"Boabhan Sith are a mix of spirits and Faerie blood. So it would be a person who was of Faerie descent and died. They are a kind of Succubus vampire thing and they are very, very dangerous." Janaya continued.

"What kind of dangerous?" Dean asked. "What do they do?"

"They prey after hunters or young men out after dark. Hunters because their clothes smell like blood, young men after dark because they are easy prey. They are so perfectly beautiful-"

"Except for their feet," Nora reminded her.

"Right, except for their feet, Boabhan Sith are so perfectly beautiful that no one can resist them. Their voices are hypnotic as well so if they speak to you, you'd probably be willing to walk right into their arms and to your doom."

"Okay," Sam said, nodding. "So, what's wrong with their feet and how do they kill you?"

"Well their feet are often hooves or talons or some other thing that mars their beauty. But their dresses, which are green, usually cover them up so they can't be seen. They kill you by being perfect," Janaya said.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Boabhan Sith are so perfect that their touch would basically cause you to orgasm to death," Janaya explained. "But as you do so, they would suck the blood out of you. But instead of using fangs like vampires do, they cut you open using their long finger nails, which look relatively normal until they attack."

Sam and Dean looked at each other. "Shit, how do you, kill it?"

"Well, they're Faeries so iron should do it. Shoot them, stab them, pin them to their grave, it doesn't matter, as long as it's iron it'll work."

"Not silver?" Dean asked.

"Hell no," Nora said firmly. "Silver is the metal of the moon. Faeries are people of the moon. Silver is completely useless against Faeries."

"Although I doubt you'd be able to kill it anyway," Janaya pointed out.

"That's true," Nora agreed, looking closely at Sam and Dean.

"What? Why?" Sam asked.

"Because, my dear, you are a man, and no man is able to resist the Baobhan Sith," Nora told him.

"Unless..." Janaya said thoughtfully.

"Unless what?" Dean asked.

"Well you could find a river stone with a natural hole and that would ward them off," Janaya said. "But the chances of finding one are slim and the chances of finding two are slimmer and it would be useless to make one."

"So you're saying we're screwed," Dean said.

"The girls could kill it," Sam pointed out but Dean looked reluctant.

"We could," Janaya agreed, "But it would only be slightly easier for us than it would be for you."

"Really? Why?" Dean asked.

"Well, just because we're able to resist their beauty to a certain degree, doesn't mean they won't chase us if they feel the need," Janaya explained. "And since we don't have our more interesting powers, it'd be hard to run and/or fight so we'll leave the hard stuff up to you, okay?"

Dean almost visibly relaxed with relief that Janaya and Nora would not have to fight the Boabhan Sith. "So what do we do?"

Janaya and Nora thought for a moment. "Well, in the common tale of the Boabhan Sith, one man survived because he hid behind some horses. The horses had iron horseshoes so it warded them off so maybe a range of iron jewellery? Or a jar of iron shavings to sprinkle around you for protection?"

"How would we do that?" Dean asked.

Janaya shrugged. "I don't know, grate some iron? That's you're job to figure out, me and Nora have more research to do."

"What more is there to do?" Sam asked, tiredly.

"Well, once you kill her, you have to make sure she stays dead so you have to build a cairn over her grave," Nora explained.

"And...?"

"And so we have to find out who she was so we get the right grave. Also, I don't want you shooting some random girl in a green dress," Nora said.

Dean sighed. "Okay, so how do you do that?"

Janaya looked at him. "Wouldn't have a clue."

OoOoOoO

Janaya and Nora had decided on the library. Nora sat down at one of the computers and went back to the local newspaper's site while Janaya went to look at the microfiche near by, both of them looking for any murder or suicide that may have happened to any woman of Irish decent. After what seemed like forever, Nora gave a frustrated sigh. "How the hell are we supposed to do this? We have no idea what this woman could look like, when she died or how and why she became a Boabhan Sith in the first place!"

Janaya sighed, silently agreeing with Nora. Their attempts did seem futile and if they didn't hurry, someone else may fall prey to the Boabhan Sith. Janaya thought for a moment then moved over to Nora and the computer. "Well for starters, see if their have been any murders similar to that of Ayden Carey's before now. Nora did as she was told and came up with nothing which made her frown, thinking that it was a problem. "Great," Janaya said.

"What?"

"Well, Boabhan Sith only rise for one time out of a year, right?" Janaya asked.

Nora nodded. "Yeah but that time varies from a day to a month so who knows if we'll be able to kill it or if we'll find out how before someone else dies."

"Yes, but if this is the first murder for this Boabhan Sith, then that means that the night Ayden Carey died was the first night that she rose." Nora nodded, already beginning to see where Janaya was going with this train of thought. "So, if you make your search more accurate by searching for women who died or went missing last year on August fourth," Janaya told her. Nora nodded and her fingers blurred acrose the key board as she hurried to type in her search preferences. There was only one entry for the search they had entered, Kerra Walsh, had gone missing a year ago and judging by the last name, she was of irish descent.

"Nice going Jay," Nora said. "I think my brain was beginning to turn to mush with all that searching."

Janaya laughed. "What can I say, I'm amazing. Now, can you enlarge that picture?" Nora did so. "Great, email that page to Sam or something so we can look at it later."

OoOoOoO

"So how did you figure this out?" Dean asked, staring at the picture of Kerra Walsh on Sam's computer screen.

"Process of elimination... sort of," Janaya said, then explained how they had figured out it was this woman.

"Wait a second," Dean said, looking from the screen to Janaya. "You didn't mention that one time a year bit when you were explaining what these things were the first time."

Janaya shrugged. "I forgot at the time. I only remembered in the library 'cause it was relavant."

Dean groaned. "So, do we know how long we have until she goes back to sleep for another year or have we missed her already?"

Nora, who had been carefully reading the article about Kerra Walsh's disappearance, raised her hand. "I think we've got a week, well, less than a week," she amended.

"How did you figure that out?" Sam asked.

Nora shrugged. "It's just a guess but she went missing on the fourth of August and her body was found on the eleventh of August, so, for those of us who can do simple subtraction, eleven minus four is seven. But we got here after Ayden Carey was killed so we only have six days."

Janaya nodded. "Awesome," she said.

"So," Dean said. "The plan is find this girl, kill her then make sure she stays dead?"

Janaya began to nod then changed her mind. "Maybe not," she muttered.

"What?" Everyone asked.

Janaya shrugged. "I dunno...she was murdered right?"

Nora looked back at the article for a moment then nodded. "But it says her killers were never found."

Janaya looked up at her sharply. "Killers?"

Nora nodded again. "It says that they found her body in an abandoned house and the evidence suggested multiple killers."

Janaya frowned thoughtfully. "Does it say how she was killed?"

Nora shook her head. "But I could probably hack into the police files and find out," Nora suggested.

Janaya nodded. "Yes, good, do that now," she said, beginning to pace the room.

"Jay are you okay?" Dean asked, worried. Janaya just held her hand up to shush him. She paced the room, getting dizzier by the moment but ignoring it as her mind worked quickly.

"Nora?" she asked imaptiently.

"Hold on," Nora said, "Hacking takes time and police files are heavily protected."

Janaya continued to pace and the dizzyness became full on nausea and Janaya finally decided to stop pacing. But it didn't work. The world span then her body swayed and everything went black.

OoOoOoO

"Jay?" Janaya heard someone say her name as she returned to consciousness. "Jay?"

Janaya groaned and sat up. She was no longer standing by the kitchen table but was now lying in her bed. She turned to find Dean sitting beside her and looking at her worriedly. "What the hell just happened?" she asked.

"I don't know," Dean said. "One minute you seem close to a breakthrough the next you're on the ground unconscious." Janaya shook her head of the grogginess and slipped out of the bed. "Woah what do you think you're doing?" Dean asked.

Janaya looked at him. "I think I'm getting out of bed so Nora and I can finish this. Has she finished getting into those files?" Dean nodded but looked reluctant to let her out of the bed. "Come on, Dean, I'm fine. If you want to be helpful, get me a glass of water and let me help solve this case." Dean hesitated then allowed her out of the bed and followed her back into the kitchen. Janaya sat down at the kitchen table while Dean got her a glass of water.

"So, how did she die?" Janaya asked Nora, acting as if nothing happened.

Nora looked from Janaya to the picture of Kerra then back to Janaya. "She was raped to death."

Janaya froze. "What?"

"She was raped to death," Nora repeated but obviously not liking how the words sounded.

Janaya shook her head. "No, I heard what you said I just... shit... Sometimes I forget just how fucked up the world really is."

Nora nodded in agreement. "At least it almost confirms that she is the Boabhan Sith," she said and Janaya nodded.

Sam and Dean looked at them with confused expressions on their faces. "You can't just be a woman of Irish decent to become a Boabhan Sith when you die, otherwise there would be far more of them than there are," Janaya explained. "It has to be a violent death that is sex related. It's usually murder because I don't think there are anykinds of suicides that involve sex... although I'm sure someone messed up enough could figure it out... anyway, if you put all of those things together plus the victim having some Faerie blood in them, then you get a Boabhan Sith. Now, since there's no way of finding out if Kerra Walsh was part Faerie, we have to assume it's her, since no one else in Rhode Island fits the profile."

Sam and Dean nodded slowly. "I still don't see why the plan isn't: kill her and make sure she stays dead," Dean said.

Janaya shook her head at him. "Nora, where was Kerra Walsh found?" Nora told her. "Right, and where was Ayden Carey found?"

Nora stopped and her eyes widened. "Ohhhh," she said.

Dean still looked confused. "What?"

Janaya sighed. "Dean, I love you, really I do, but sometimes you are such a moron." Dean just blinked at her. "They were found in the same place, honey, put two and two together for yourself this time."

Dean frowned then comprehension dawned on his face. "So, you think that Ayden Carey was one of Kerra Walsh's killers?"

"Congratulations!" Janaya said, clapping. "That is exactly what I think."

"Why?" Dean asked. "I mean, all you have to go on is the fact that their bodies were both found in the same place."

"That is true," Janaya said. "That and now suddenly she's back from the dead killing people. I'm pretty sure that if I was murdered then descovered I could come back and kill people, the first thing I'd do is kill the people who killed me." Nora nodded in agreement and so did Sam.

"Alright you've got a point there," Dean agreed. "So, she's got a week to kill her killers, you think she'll go for the next one tonight?" Janaya nodded. "Then you and Nora need to get out there and find out who the next victim might be."

"Easier said than done," Janaya said. "First of all, sundown is in under an hour, so that seriously limits the amount of time we have to figure it out, and there could be one other killer or six, who knows? So even if we do manage to figure out one of the other killers, there is no guarantee that she will kill that one. Especially if we go to find them so close to sundown, she'll figure somethings up and go for the one that we're not looking for. Boabhan Sith are very, very smart, especially the ones out for revenge."

Dean sighed. "So what do you wanna do about it then?"

Janaya hesitated. "Do you want the truth?" Dean nodded. "I want to let her kill them all."

"What?!"

"I know, it's not right but, the way they die is much nicer than what they did to her," Janaya reasoned. "Plus, they all deserve to die after what they did to her anyway..."

Dean sighed and wrapped her in a hug. "Look, I know these guys are bastards but after Sue-Ann you should know that we don't get to choose who lives and who dies," he told her.

"I know, but her idea of immoral is different to mine. I mean, she picked you because you knew what she was really up to whereas these fucks deserve to die because they killed an innocent girl for no good reason."

Dean paused. "I agree with you there, Jay, but we still have to do what we can to protect them from Kerra, it's our job."

Nora cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, it's great that you guys are having this little moment, but we need to make a decision because sundown is closing in and we're quickly running out of time to find the next victim anyway."

Janaya sighed. "Well, if we can find her grave before sundown we can get her as she gets out and before she even heads towards the next victim."

Dean hugged her tighter. "Good plan."

OoOoOoO

Dean had seriously pushed the speed limit to get to the cemetery so they would have enough time to find Kerra's grave before sundown but it didn't seem to have done any good. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon line and they still hadn't found it.

"Hey! Over here!" Nora called, with barely enough time to spare. Everyone ran to where she was and looked sadly at the grave, somebody had recently placed flowers and a photo of ontop of the grave. "You know, the "letting the fuckers die idea" is still open," Nora suggested but to her surprise Janaya shook her head.

"I have another idea," she said. "Everyone hide."

They all looked at her confused. "But, if we wait here, we can kill her before she's even properly out of her grave," Dean pointed out.

Janaya nodded. "I know, but if we do that, she won't lead us to her killers and we can't force a confession out of them, so just hide." And with that, she ran away from the grave and into the surrounding woods. With the sun disappearing rapidly, the others followed suit before they were seen by the Faerie spirit. As they hid in the woods, the sun completely disappeared and everything went very dark. For a few minutes, nothing happened, and Janaya worried they had the wrong person but just as her brain began to form the thought, something began to appear over Kerra's grave. At first, it seemed nothing more than air distortion due to heat, but when put together with the fact that it wasn't remarkably warm at that moment and the shimmer was beginning to take shape, the distortion theory quickly became redundant. After less than a minute, the shimmer had become a fully formed Kerra Walsh, paler than she looked in the photos they had seen but unmistakably her. Kerra looked around her for a moment, as if surprised to be where she was but then something flashed behind her eyes and she seemed to remember and set off determinedly in a random direction.

"So what's the plan?" Dean asked.

"Follow her, but be quiet, if she realises what we're doing, she'll come after us," Janaya pointed out then set out to follow Kerra. At a loss for any other option, the others followed her.

OoOoOoO

Kerra led them to what looked like an abandoned house and appeared to be the one that she and Ayden Carey had been found in. When Kerra stepped into the yard of the house, another look crossed her face and she looked around her frantically. Then she began to cry, it was silent but unmistakable. Her shoulders shook with sobs and when she looked up from her hands, tears were evident on her face.

"What's wrong with her?" Dean asked.

"She forgot," Nora whispered. Dean looked at her questioningly. "Whenever she returns to her grave, it's like she's dead again so she forgets what happened. When she woke up, she realised she was in a cemetery then decided to head for the last place she remembers being. When she got here, she remembered what happened and it was like it happened all over again, the trauma that is. As soon as she's finished dealing with it, she'll snap out of it and go for the revenge option." Just as Nora said this, Kerra looked up from her hands again, although the tears were still staining her face, she looked more determined than sad. Then the determination turned to anger and she set off again.

"Oh, crap," Janaya said, hurrying after Kerra, the others following closely behind.

This time Kerra led them to a very lived in home but stopped outside, looking uncertain. Janaya wondered why she had not yet entered the house and killed the next victim. Then she noticed the horseshoe on the door frame and shook her head. There was almost no way this killer could know what was going on, it must be a coincidence or sheer luck that he happened to have an iron horseshoe outside his door. Janaya frowned for a moment then gestured for the others to follow her to the back of the house where they would enter. Nora frowned and pointed to Kerra with a questioning look on her face, not wanting to make to much noise now that their hiding place was much closer to Kerra than they would have liked. Janaya shook her head to say that they would not need to worry about her. She looked fiercly determined that this would be her next victim so she would stay where she was until she found a way into the house. Nora shrugged then followed Janaya quietly to the back of the house. The back door was, luckily, unlocked so they could make their way in quietly. Further into the house, they found a man lounging around on a couch, staring gormlessly at a tv. Janaya was suddenly filled with anger as she looked at this pile of filth. He had been part of a huge atrocity but seemed to be comfortable with his everyday life. Giving up all pretence of stealth, Janaya walked confidently into the man's living room and stepped in front of the tv. The man looked confused for a second then jumped to his feet.

"Who the hell are you!" he demanded, stumbling backwards over the couch and reaching for the phone. There was a click behind him as Dean pulled out his gun on the man and walked forward.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Dean said firmly and the man pulled his hand away from the phone. "Great, now if you would kindly do me a favour and go and look out the window next to your front door." The man looked confused but, after staring at the gun for a moment, did as he was told. He pulled the curtain back then dropped it in fright.

"That's not possible," he choked.

Janaya laughed. "No, actually, it is entirely possible. The girl you helped kill is standing on your front lawn waiting to kill you."

The man looked confused. "How do you -"

"Oh look at that," Janaya interrupted. "No denial, just you wondering how we know that you're a cold blooded murderer." The man blinked at her, terrified. "You see, we know you killed her simply because she is now standing in your front lawn," Janaya explained. As she did so, Nora and Sam came further into the room, Sam too wielding a gun, the man looked as if he was about to cry. "Now, she is here to kill you, just like she killed Ayden Carey, but we can prevent that, if we can come to some sort of agreement."

The man stared at her, dumbfounded. Then suddenly he seemed to realise what was going on. "Anything, name it, just don't let her kill me," he begged.

Janaya looked at the man infront of her pitilessly. "I want a confession," she said. The man's face fell. It was evident he'd hoped they'd ask for money or something similar but a confession? Janaya saw the hesitation and gestured to Nora. Nora pulled a jar of iron filings that Sam and Dean had prepared while the girls had been at the library. She held the jar ready then went to the front door and opened it. Kerra turned her head towards her and glared but stopped when she saw Nora remove the horseshoe from the door frame and chuck it to the side. Kerra grinned maliciously and walked quickly towards the house. The man broke down into tears.

"Please," he begged. "I'll do it, I'll confess just don't let her do it." Reluctantly, Nora poured the iron filings in a circle around all of them and looked to the front door where Kerra was now standing. Kerra looked only at the man grovelling on the ground, her eyes full of anger. The man looked up from the ground at her and, despite the iron protecting him, was mesmerised by her inhuman beauty. "Kerra," he whispered in awe. Realising she could still charm him to his death, Kerra's eyes softened and she smiled at the man.

"Hello, Evan," she said softly. Evan stood up and went to stand out of the protective iron circle but Nora pulled out a knife and sliced into his arm, causing him to cry out in pain but realise what was going on and stepped back into the circle. Janaya pulled out a dictaphone and handed it to him.

"Confess, say your full name and the full name of the others involved and say what you did, when and where," Janaya ordered him. Evan hesitated and nearly turned back to Kerra when she called his name. Janaya slapped him, hard and repeated her order. Shakily, Evan pressed record and did as he was told, speaking as clearly as possible as he could. When he was done he handed the dictaphone back to Janaya who stopped the recording and put the dictaphone back into her pocket. She was about to tell Dean to deal with Kerra but Dean stuck the gun at the back of Evan's head.

"Now, apologise," Dean said. Evan looked at him with wide, astonished eyes. "Look her in the eye and apologise to her," he repeated.

Evan turned to face Kerra and, surprisingly, was not drawn out of the circle by her beauty. She had turned the charm off so that he could apologise to her properly. Dean looked at her for the first time since she had entered the room and saw her looking at him with an odd expression on her face. She turned back to Evan and met his eye.

"I'm so sorry," he said quietly. "I am so, so sorry, Kerra, we had no right to do what we did to you." Kerra cocked her head at him then, seemingly satisfied with the apology, she turned back to Dean.

Dean was about to close his eyes incase she turned the charm back on but she didn't, instead, she smiled at him. "Are you going to shoot me, Dean?" she asked. Dean blinked at her. How did she know his name? She laughed. "It's okay, Dean, you can shoot me now," she said. All eyes widened in surprise at her. "I don't want to kill anymore, please, let me rest now." Dean opened and closed his mouth a couple of times then slowly moved his gun from the back of Evan's head and pointed it at Kerra but he seemed unsure of where to aim.

"Shoot her in the heart, Dean," Janaya said quietly. Dean nodded and aimed at Kerra's heart. He squeezed the trigger and, as the iron bullet hit her heart, she smiled. She became nothing more than a shimmer again then was gone. "Well done, Dean," Janaya said, moving over to him. "You tamed one of the most dangerous of the Faerie Folk." Dean grinned at her then looked back at Evan.

"Alright, Evan, you're coming with us," Dean said, lifting Evan to his feet by his collar.

"But I already gave you my confession," he protested.

Janaya shook her head. "That was just a back up confession to make sure that you would. Now you actually have to go to the police station and turn yourself in." Evan looked like he was about to protest but gave in and allowed Dean to escort him out to the car.

OoOoOoO

Janaya woke up to a bright light on the other side of her eyelids again and turned before she opened her eyes this time but still she felt nauseous, although not nearly as bad as the last time.

'Maybe I'm coming down with something', she thought to herself, remembering her fainting spell yesterday as well.Then another thought entered her head and she frantically threw the blankets off her and got dressed. She grabbed her wallet and Dean's keys and sped away from the motel. Dean woke up and realised Janaya was gone and frowned. He realised too that his keys were gone and became slightly less worried. If she had taken the Impala, she would be back, he was confident in that. That and she had left all but her wallet behind.

Half an hour later, Janaya returned and sought out Nora. She dragged Nora into the bathroom adjoining their motel and looked at her with a worried look in her eye. "Nor, I think we have a very big problem."

OoOoOoO

Succubus - In Western medieval legend, a succubus (plural succubi) is a demon who takes the form of a beautiful human female to seduce men (especially monks) in dreams to have sexual intercourse. ...  
**Boabhan Sith** - Baa'van Shee


	9. Route 666

**Wow, wasn't i quick to get the next one up. Haha, enjoy!**

OoOoOoO

As Dean stepped out of the car to check his cellphone messages, Nora leaned over to speak to Janaya. "Have you told him yet?" she asked, prodding her in the arm.

Janaya glared at her. "No, I haven't. He doesn't need to know. And will you keep your voice down?" she said, glancing at Sam who turned around to face her.

"It's okay, Jay, I already know," he said.

"You told him?" Janaya asked, struggling to keep her voice down. "Why the hell did you tell him?"

Nora shrugged. "I needed to tell someone, and since you won't let me tell Dean who, by the way, has every right to know, I told Sam. Don't worry," she said, patting Janaya on the shoulder. "He won't tell Dean, will you, Sam?" Sam shook his head and smiled at Janaya, then his face turned serious.

"But you do have to tell him," he said. "He'll figure it out sooner or later."

"Unless of course, it's not definite yet," Nora suggested hopefully.

Janaya shook her head. "I've checked in almost every way possible, this is for real." She paused. "I just... I don't know how to tell him."

"It's okay," Sam assured her. "Take your time, but he's not as stupid as we like to believe, he will figure it out eventually."

At that moment, Dean stepped back in the car and everyone fell silent. "You weren't talking about me were you?" he asked.

Janaya forced a smile. "Of course we were," she said. She nodded the the phone in his hands. "Anything interesting?"

Dean looked down at his phone as well and hesitated before, "Yeah," he said. "I got a message from... an old friend. Her father was killed last night and she thinks it might be our kind of thing."

"What?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, and, believe me, she never would have could _never_ if she didn't need us."

Janaya thought for a moment. "How did she know about 'our kind of thing'?"

Dean squirmed uncomfortably. "Long story, okay?" And with that he put the Impala in drive and turned around to head towards Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

OoOoOoO

"So by old friend you mean..." Sam said, looking at Dean expectantly.

"A friend that's not knew," Dean said dismissively.

"Hmmm, specific," Sam said sarcastically.

"So, this Cassie chick is your ex?" Janaya asked casually.

Dean sighed."Yeah, we went out a couple of times."

"Should I be worried?"

Dean smiled. "Trust me, you have absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to Cassie."

OoOoOoO

Dean lead Sam and the girls into a building that appeared to be where they printed the newspaper. They could see a group of people arguing and Dean pointed to the curly haired, black women who was one of them. When the argument broke up and Cassie turned around to see them, she looked surprised.

"Dean," she said with relief and moved closer to them but paused when she noticed that Dean was holding Janaya's hand.

"Hey, Cassie," Dean said, forcing a smiled onto his face. She smiled back at him but hers was genuine. Dean hesitated for a moment before clearing his throat and looking away. "This is my brother, Sam, " he said pointing to Sam. "And his girlfriend, Nora and my girlfriend, Janaya."

Janaya looked Cassie up and down briefly before deciding that politeness was the best way to go and extended her hand. "Hi." Cassie cautiously took her hand and shook it before doing the same to Nora and Sam.

"I'm, uh, sorry about your dad," Dean said after an awkward silence.

"Yeah," Cassie said. "Me too."

OoOoOoO

"My mothers in pretty bad shape," Cassie said, bringing a tray of tea into her living room where they were now all seated. "I wish she wouldn't go off by herself, she was so nervous and frightened. She was really worried about Dad."

"Why?" Dean asked.

"He was scared, seeing things."

"Like what?" Dean pressed.

"He swore he saw and awful looking black truck following him," she explained.

"A truck?" Sam asked. "Who was the driver?"

"He didn't talk about a driver, just the truck," she said as she handed cups of tea to everyone. "He said it would appear and disappear."

"Thanks," Janaya and Nora said when they were given their tea. Dean gave his and incredulous look and put it to the side and forgot about it, making Janaya have hold back laughter.

"And in Dad's accident," Cassie continued, "it looked like it been slammed into by something big."

"You're sure it wasn't there already?" Nora asked.

Cassie shook her head. "He sold cars, always drove a new one." she paused. "It had rained hard that night, there was mud everywhere. There was a distinct set of tracks from Dad's car leading right... to the edge... where he went over," she said, fighting back tears. Then she became frustrated. "One set of tracks! Just his."

"And the first person killed was a friend of your fathers?" Dean asked.

"Best friend," she corrected. "Clayton Soames, they owned the car dealership together." She shook her head. "Same thing, dent, no tracks. And the cops said exactly what they said with Dad 'the lost control of his car'," she had a look of complete disbelief on her face.

"Can you think of any reason why your father and his partner might be targets?" Janaya asked, finally putting some input into the conversation.

Cassie thought for a moment then shook her head. "No."

"And you think this vanishing truck ran him off the road?" Sam asked, a hint of incredulity in his voice.

Cassie sighed. "Well, when you say it aloud like that... listen, I'm a little skeptical about this.. ghost stuff or... whatever it is you guys are into."

"Ha, skeptical," Dean said, "if I remember correctly I think you said I was 'nuts'"

"That was then," Cassie said. "I just know that I can't explain what happened up there, so I called you."

Janaya watched this exchange with a frown on her face. The way they look at each other, it seemed like they were more serious than having 'gone out a couple of times.' The front door opened and a fragile looking white woman walked into the house. "Mom!" Cassie said, standing up and going to the woman. "Where have you been?"

Her mother looked shocked to see so many people in her living room. "Oh, I had no idea you'd invited friends over."

"Oh, uh, this is Dean, a friend of mine from... college and his brother Sam and their girlfriends," Cassie said, pointing to each person in turn.

"Well, I... I won't interrupt you," she said, and turned to leave.

"Mrs Robinson," Dean said, startling the woman and causing her to turn back to him. "We're sorry for your loss. Um, we'd like to talk to you for a minute if you don't mind." Janaya hit him in the arm and he looked at her questioningly.

"I'm really not up to that just now," Mrs Robinson said, with a horrified look on her face then went upstairs.

"Wow, Dean, aren't you mister sensitive?" Janaya said sarcastiaclly when she had gone.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to do my job," he said defensively.

"I think we'd better go now," Sam said, herding the others out of Cassie's house. "We'll talk to you again some other time." Cassie nodded and shut the door behind them.

"What's up with you today?" Dean asked Janaya when they had all piled back into the Impala and begun driving towards a motel.

"Me?" Janaya asked. "What's up with you? That woman just lost her husband, and you go asking to interrogate her! You need to give grieving people space, Dean, you should know that."

Dean was about to retaliate but Nora stopped them. "How 'bout you both shut up until we're out of the car, okay?" she said. "Your arguing is annoying and extremely pointless so shut it or I will shut it for you." Janaya looked as if she was about to turn her annoyance to Nora but a strange look came over her face and she fell silent. "Thank you," she said. "God, what are you, twelve?"

OoOoOoO

"Accidents happen, Cassie and that's what they are, accidents," Cassie was being told by the man she'd been arguing with yesterday. Another one of her fathers friends had died in a car accident.

"Did the cops check for additional denting on Jimmy's car to see if it was pushed?" Dean asked, as he stepped up behind Cassie.

"Who's this?" The man asked.

"Sam and Dean Winchester," she said, Nora and Janaya had stayed at the motel while the boys checked out the crime scene. "Family friends," Cassie continued. "Guys, this is Mayor Harold Todd."

"One set of tire tracks, one," Harold Todd told Sam and Dean. "That doesn't point to foul play."

"Mayor, the police and town official take their cues from you," Cassie said. "If you're indifferent -"

"Indifferent?" The Mayor interrupted.

"Would you close the roads if the victims were white?" she asked, Sam and Dean looked at each other, they'd obviously missed something.

"You suggesting I'm racist Cassie?" the Mayor asked. "I'm the last person you should talk to like that."

"And why's that?" Cassie asked defiantly.

"Why don't you ask your mother?" he said before turning away.

OoOoOoO

"Jay, what's your view on Cassie?" Nora asked, as they surfed channels on the television.

"I'm remaining impartial when it comes to her," Janaya said. "Why?"

Nora shrugged. "I dunno, there's just something about her that I don't trust."

Janaya looked at her. "You mean like there's more to her and Dean than they're letting on?" Nora nodded. "I know what you mean," Janaya admitted. "But I trust Dean. Even if there's something not right about Cassie, Dean's still one of the most trustworthy people I know."

Nora nodded. "But why won't you tell him?"

"Tell him that he's trustworthy?"

"No, Jay, you know what I mean."

"Oh, right, well... I dunno, it's kind of a hard thing to bring up, you know? Not the kind of thing that's easy to drop into a conversation. Hell, I think it would be easier to say 'hey I'm the demon that killed your mother' than tell him this."

Nora sighed and put her arm around Janaya's shoulders. "Come on, Jay, I'm sure it'd be easier if you actually tried. I mean, start talking about something slightly related or something that could lead into it and I'm sure it would get easier from then on."

"Something that could lead into it? Like what? Demonic possession?" Janaya asked.

Nora laughed. "A little too far off the mark but if you could find a way to make it work then fine."

Janaya groaned. "I hate my life."

OoOoOoO

Sam and Dean had returned from the crime scene and were about to go our again masquerading as insurance company officials.

"I'll say this for her," Sam said, as he put on his tuxedo jacket. "She's fearless."

"Yup," Dean agreed.

"bet she kicked your ass a couple of times," Sam said, grinning at his older brother. "What's interesting is you guys never really look at each other at the same time. You look at her when she's not looking. She checks you out when you look away..."

"Dude!" Dean said. "Would you stop? You sound like you're trying to set me up with her or something."

Sam laughed. "Do you actually think I'm that stupid? It's just an interesting observation in a... you know... observationally interesting way."

"Yeah, well, don't you think we might have more pressing issues here?"

Sam grinned harder. "Hey, if I'm hitting a nerve..."

"Oh, shut up."

"Hey, where're you two off to?" Janaya asked, stepping in front of them.

"Just questioning some people," Dean said, giving her a strange look. "Why?"

Janaya hesitated and glanced at Sam who was giving her an encouraging look. "Doesn't matter, be careful, okay?"

Dean nodded and left the motel room. Sam cocked and eyebrow at her and she waved him off.

OoOoOoO

Sam and Dean approached a couple of men sitting at a table near the docks. "Excuse me," Dean said. "Are you Ron Stubbins?" The man he'd been speaking to nodded. "You were friend with Jimmy Anderson?"

"Who're you?" Ron Stubbins asked.

"We're with Mr Anderson's insurance company," Dean lied. "We're just here to dot some i's and cross some t's" both men looked at him suspiciously.

"We're just wondering, had the deceased mentioned any unusual recent experiences?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean unusual?" Ron asked.

"Well, visions, hallucinations..." Sam elaborated.

"It's all part of a medical examination kind of thing," Dean explained. "All very standard.

"What company did you say you were from?" Ron asked, now very suspicious.

"All National Mutual," Dean said, pulling a document out of his jacket pocket slightly. "Tell me, did he ever mention seeing a truck? A big, black truck?"

"What the hell're you talking about? " Ron asked, but the man next to him looked up slightly. "Are you even speaking English?"

"Son, this, this truck," the man next to Ron, a black man, said. "Was it a big scary monster of a thing?"

"Yeah, actually I think so," Dean said.

"I have heard or a truck like that," the man said.

"You have?" Sam asked. "Where?"

"Not where," the man corrected. "When. Back in the 60's there was a string of deaths... black men. Story goes they disappeared in a big nasty black truck."

"They ever catch the guy who did it?" Dean asked.

The man shook his head. "Never found 'im. Hell, not sure they even really looked." Sam gave him a questioning look. "See, there was a time, when this town wasn't too friendly to all it's citizens."

Sam and Dean looked at each other then turned back to the men. "Thank you," Sam said, then he and Dean left the men in peace.

"Truck," Dean said, almost spitting the word out.

"It does keep popping up doesn't it?" Sam agreed.

"You know I was thinking, you ever heard of the Flying Dutchman?" Dean asked.

"Yeah,a ghost ship, infused with the captain's evil spirit. It was basically a part of him," Sam recited.

"Yeah, so what if we're dealing with the same thing?" Dean suggested. "You know, a phantom truck, the extension of some bastards ghost, reenacting past crimes."

"The victims have all been black men," Sam agreed thoughtfully.

"I think it's more than that," Dean said. "They all seem connected to Cassie and her family."

"Alright, you work that angle, go talk to her," Sam told him.

"Yeah, I will," Dean said, albeit reluctantly.

"Oh and, while you're there, you might want to mention that other thing," Sam said.

"What other thing?"

"That serious unfinished business?" Sam said. "Seriously, you have to sort whatever it is out with her so that your calm when you talk to Janaya next." Dean frowned at him, confsion evident on his face. Sam laughed. "Will you just trust me?"

OoOoOoO

Sam returned to the motel room alone much to the disappointment of Janaya. "Where's Dean?" she asked.

"I dropped him off at Cassie's," Sam said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Oh," Janaya said. "Why?"

Sam laughed. "So you've definitely decided to tell him?" Janaya nodded slowly. "That's great, well, he's working on the Cassie and her family angle at the moment," he told her, "but this is pretty important so I'm sure he won't mind you borrowing him for a few minute. Actually, he'll probably welcom it."

"You're probably right," Janaya agreed. "Keys?" Sam tossed her the keys and Janaya headed towards the door. "See, you guys later!"

OoOoOoO

When Janaya got to Cassie's, she was about to knock on the doot but found that the door was already slightly open. Shrugging, she pushed the door open more and looked inside. She was about to call "Hello" to see if anyone was there but she quickly changed it to "What the hell are you doing?" when she saw Dean and Cassie kissing angrily.

Dean pulled away suddenly and looked shocked at both himself for kissing Cassie and Janaya for being in the door way. "Shit, I can explain."

Janaya raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? Well, explain away then."

Dean hesitated. "Really? Um, well, I got here and we were just talking." Janaya nodded and crossed her arms. "Then somehow we got into an argument about us, when we were together." Janaya nodded again. "And then it just... happened."

Janaya looked questioningly at Cassie who nodded. "Yeah, that pretty much exactly what happened."

"Jay?" Dean asked cautiously, stepping towards her.

"Just..." Janaya sighed trailed off and sighed. She pulled the keys to the Impala out of her pocket and tossed them to him. "I'm... going for a walk," she said.

"Are you -"

"I'm fine, Dean," she said. "I just need to think."

OoOoOoO

Dean had left Cassie's immediately and gone back to the motel. When he returned alone, Sam and Nora looked surprised.

"Where's Jay?" Nora asked.

Dean shrugged. "She went for a walk," he said, sitting down on the nearest chair and rubbing his temples lightly.

"Why? Didn't she tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Nora's eyes widened. "Uh... what happened when she got to Cassie's?"

Dean looked down at the ground. "Well, she walked in on me and Cassie... kissing."

Nora's eyes widened. She moved over to Dean and slapped him twice in the face. Hard. "You are such a moron, Dean Winchester."

"I know, I know," he moaned. "I screwed up, but hey, it could have been worse, right?"

OoOoOoO

Dean woke up the next morning and Janaya hadn't returned. He sat up suddenly, a horrible feeling in the pit of his stoamch. He scrambled out of bed and went to wake Nora. "Have you heard from Jay since last night?"

"No," she said sleepily. "Why? What's wrong?"

"She's not back yet," he said. He looked past her. "Where's Sam?"

Nora looked behind her and saw the Sam wasn't in the bed with her. "I don't know, I've been sleeping, like normal people do at this time in the morning."

"I'm in here," Sam called and Dean found him in the kitchen.

"Have you seen Jay?" Sam shook his head. "Shit," Dean whispered. "She hasn't come back from her walk yet," Dean explained. "I think something happened to her."

Sam looked worried. "I have more news," he said. "Mayor Todd was killed this morning. I was going to get you to check it out with me but if you and Nor want to look for Jay, you can catch up with me later."

Dean nodded. "Good idea," he said then went back into the bedroom to rouse Nora.

OoOoOoO

Dean and Nora dropped Sam off near where the Mayor was killed then proceeded to drive all over town, looking for Janaya. Nora tried ringing Janaya's cellphone but there was no answer. She decided not to tell Dean. At one point, they thought they'd found her, but it was a much younger girl who looked nothing like her on closer inspection. As the minutes ticked by, Dean became more and more nervous.

"Dean, relax," Nora said, trying to keep herself calm as well. "We'll go to the cops and file a missing persons report and we will not leave here until we've found her - watch out fot the dog!" Dean slammed his foot on the breaks as a very large, wolfish dog wandered out in front of the Impala. They barely missed it and the dog stared at them suspiciously as it walked past them. "That is the single scariest dog I have ever seen," Nora said. "Right, putting that to the side now, the cops, Dean, now." Dean nodded and headed towards the police station.

OoOoOoO

Dean appeared at the crime scene and Sam told the police officer he was working with that Dean was with him. "Did you find her?" he asked Dean when the cop hd wandered away.

Dean shook his head. "I left Nora at the Motel. She wanted to keep looking on foot but I told her I didn't want her disappearing either," Dean said. "So, what happened here?" he asked, trying to change the subject

"Every bone crushed and internal organs turned to pudding," Sam said.

"What do the cops think happened?"

"They're stumped," Sam told him. "But, it's almost like something ran him over."

"Something like a truck?"

"Yup."

"Tracks?"

"Nope."

"What was the Mayor doing here anyway?" Dean asked.

"He owned the property," Sam explained. "Bought it a few weeks ago."

"Yeah, but he's white, it doesn't fit the pattern," Dean pointed out.

"Killing didn't happen up on the road, that doesn't fit either," Sam said. "Dude, you need to talk to Cassie."

Dean groaned. "Great..."

OoOoOoO

"Are you okay?" Cassie asked as she handed Dean a coffee. Dean looked at it then downed it in one gulp.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dean said, not looking away from the computer screen.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You're all moody."

Dean sighed. "Janaya's gone missing," he said. "Excuse me if I'm a little worried."

Cassie looked down and nodded. "So, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find a link between those killings back in the sixties and what's going on now," he explained. "There wasn't a lot about it in the paper."

"Not surprising," Cassie admitted. "Probably minimum police work too. Back then, equal justice under the law wasn't too literal around here."

Dean's cellphone rang and he checked the caller id before answering. "Yeah," he said.

"Okay, the courthouse records show that Mr and Mrs Mayor bought an abandoned property," Sam said. "The previous owners were the Dorian family for, like, a hundred and fifty years."

"Dorian?" Dean asked.

"Yeah."

"Didn't you say the Dorian family used to own this paper?" Dean asked Cassie.

She nodded. "Along with most everything else around here."

"Right," Dean said. He held his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he started typing at the computer. He clicked a few times and a newspaper article showed up. "That's interesting."

"What?" Sam asked.

"This, Cyrus Dorian, he vanished in April of '63. The case was investigated but never solved," Dean said. "That's right around the time that that string of murders was going on back then."

"Well, Nor pulled a bunch of paper up on the Dorian place, it must have been in bad shape when the Mayor bought it."

"Why's that?"

"Well, apparently the first thing he did was bulldoze the place."

"Mayor Todd knocked down the Dorian place?" Dean asked Cassie.

She nodded. "It was a big deal. One of the oldest local houses left, he made the front page."

"You got a date?" Dean asked Sam.

"Uh, the third of last month."

Dean typed more and pulled up and article about the bulldozing. :Mayor Todd destroys historic home, the first murder was the very next day."

"Right, I'll go run that by Nora, and I'll see you later," Sam said.

OoOoOoO

Dean sat at the table in the kitchen and stared at it blankly. He couldn't get over the feeling that something really bad had happened to her. Suddenly, his cellphone started ringing and he absently answered it.

"Dean!" Cassie called down the line.

"Cassie?" Dean asked.

"Dean!" Cassie called again then the line went dead.

"Shit," Dean said and jumped to his feet.

"What's wrong?" Nora asked as she came into the kitchen.

"Something's happened to Cassie," he said. "I'm going to check it out."

"I'll come with you," Nora said. Dean gave her a confused look. "She needs to get slapped too you know. Just to even things out a little bit."

Dean laughed slightly. "Alright, what about Sam?"

Nora shrugged. "He's sleeping, we can just leave a note for him or something. Dean nodded and went into the bedroom to get his jacket while Nora wrote a note to Sam. She left it on the kitchen table as they left the motel room in a rush.

OoOoOoO

Cassie opened the door and was greeted by a slap in the face. "What the hell!"

Nora shrugged. "Don't tell me you didn't deserve it," she said. "Plus, I'm pretty stressed at the moment and that made me feel better. So, what happened here?"

"The, uh, the truck was here," she said. "On the lawn. It was... trying to chase me I think."

Nora and Dean sat down in the living room where Cassie's mother was also sitting. "Did you see who was driving it?" Dean asked.

Cassie shook her head. "There seemed to be no one," she said. "Everything was moving so fast and then it was just gone." She looked from Dean to Nora. "Why didn't it just kill us?"

"Whatever's controlling the truck wants you afraid first," Dean said.

Nora looked at Cassie's mother reluctantly then sighed and spoke. "Mrs Robinson, Cassie said that your husband saw the truck before he died."

Mrs Robinson just looked at her, terrified. "Mom?" Cassie asked.

"Hmm? Oh, uh, well, Martin was under a lot of stress we can't be sure what he was seeing," she said.

Nora frowned at her. "Well, after tonight we can be reasonably sure he was seeing a truck. What happened tonight, means that you and Cassie are marked, okay? You're daughter could die. So if you know something, now would be a really good time to tell us about it."

"Yes," Mrs Robinson admitted. "Yes, he said he saw a truck."

"Did he know who it belonged to?" Nora asked.

"He thought he did."

"Who was that?" Dean asked.

Mrs Robinson hesitated. "Cyrus," she finally said. "A man named Cyrus."

Dean pulled out one of the articles he'd printed off and handed it to Mrs Robinson. "Is this Cyrus?" he asked.

"Cyrus Dorian died more than forty years ago," Mrs Robinson said without even looking at the picture.

"How do you know he died, Mrs Robinson?" Nora asked. "I read that article and it mentions nothing of his death, only that he went missing." Mrs Robinson looked frightened. "How do you know he died?"

"We were all very young," she admitted. "I dated Cyrus awhile. I was also seeing Martin. In secret of course 'cause... interracial couples didn't go over to well then. When I broke it off with Cyrus and when he found out about Martin... I don't know... he changed. His hatred... his hatred was frightening."

"The string of murders," Nora said.

"There were rumours, people of colour disappearing into some kind of a truck. But nothing was ever done... Martin... Martin and I were gonna be married in that little church near here but, uh...last minute, we decided to elope because we didn't want all the attention."

"And Cyrus?" Dean asked.

Mrs Robinson was now openly crying. "The day we set for the wedding... was... the day someone set fire to the church... There was a children's choir practicing in there... They all died."

"Did the attacks stop after that?" Nora asked.

"No," Mrs Robinson said. "There was one more. One night that truck came for Martin. Cyrus beat him something terrible. But Martin, you see, Martin got loose and he started hitting Cyrus. And he just kept hitting him and hitting him..." she trailed off into racking sobs.

"Why didn't you call the cops?" Dean asked.

"This was forty years ago," she reminded him. "He called on his friends Clayton Soames and Jimmy Anderson and they put Cyrus' body into the truck and rolled it into the swamp at the edge of his land. And all three of them kept that secret all these years."

"And now all three are gone," Nora said.

"And so is Mayor Todd," Dean added. He looked at Mrs Robinson. "He said that you of all people would know that he was not a racist. Why would he say that?"

Mrs Robinson breathed in deeply. "he was a good man. He was a young deputy back then, investigating Cyrus' disappearance. Once he figured out what Martin and the others had done he... he did nothing, because he also knew what Cyrus had done."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Cassie asked, also crying.

"I thought I was protecting them," her mother said. "And now there's no one left to protect."

"Yes there is," Nora said, looking at Cassie.

OoOoOoO

After having told Cassie to stay with her mother, Dean and Nora had gone back to the motel to figure out a plan.

"Right, so this Cyrus guy," Dean said. "Evil on a level that infected his truck." Sam nodded. "When he died, the swamp became his tomb and his spirit was dormant for forty years."

"So what woke it up?" Sam asked.

"The construction on his house," Nora said. "Or rather the destruction."

"Right, demolition or remodeling can awaken spirits and make them restless," Sam agreed. "So we're gonna have to dredge that truck up from the swamp, aren't we?" Dean nodded.

"How?" Nora asked.

"I have a plan," Dean said, grinning.

OoOoOoO

"All right let's get her up!" Sam called to Dean who sat atop a digger and was hauling Cyrus Dorian's truck out of the swamp. "A little more!" he called and when the truck was clear of the swamp he called to Dean to stop.

"Impressive work boys," Nora said from where they'd told her to stay. "Now what's the plan?"

"Salt and burn the bones," Sam said. "As usual."

Nora nodded. "Alright, while you're over there, getting the body out of the truck, I'll be over here with the burning tools waiting to light the sucker on fire. Sound good? Okay go," she ordered and after only a moments hesitation, the boys did as they were told.

"Think that'll do it?" Sam asked as they body was set alight. In answer, the ghost of the truck revved at them and turned it's lights on.

"I guess not," Dean said.

"So burning the body had no affect on that thing?" Nora asked.

"Sure it did," Dean said. "Now it's really pissed."

"But Cyrus' ghost is gone now, right Dean?" Sam asked.

"Apparently not the part that's fused with the truck," Dean said, heading towards the Impala.

"Where're you going?" Nora asked.

"For a little ride," Dean said. "I'm gonna lead that thing away."

"Are you crazy? You'll get yourself killed!" she said.

Dean shrugged. "That rusted peace of crap, you gotta burn it!"

"How the hell are we supposed to burn a truck, Dean!" Sam asked.

"I dunno, figure something out!" he said, and chucked Dean the bag of supplies, got in the Impala and sped away.

Sam looked to Nora for help and she shrugged. "He is so dead," she said as the ghost truck began to follow Dean. Sam pulled their father's Journal out of the bag and started frantically flicking through it. He saw something written down then tossed the journal aside and pulled out a map of missouri. "Dean, you gotta give me a minute," he said after he'd answered.

"We don't have a minute!" Dean yelled down the phone. "What are we doing?"

Sam looked at the map in front of him and hesitated. "Let me get back to you," he said. He chucked his phone to Nora. "You stay on the phone to Dean, pass me your phone, I need to call Cassie." She hesitated for a moment the tossed him her cellphone.

"Dean?" she asked.

"Nora?"

"Yeah, Sam's calling Cassie at the moment," she said.

"Nor, I need Dean again," Sam said. Nora nodded and tossed him the phone. "Alright, Dean?"

"Yeah, this better be good!"

"Where are you?"

"I'm in the middle of nowhere with a killer truck on my ass!" Dean said. "I mean, it's like it knows I put the torch to Cyrus."

"Dean, Dean, listen to me. It's important, I have to know exactly where you are."

Dean looked around and saw a street sign. "Decatur Road about two miles up the highway!"

"Okay, headed east?"

"Yes!" Dean said before the truck hit the back of the Impala and he nearly spun out of control.

"Okay, uh, turn right. Up ahead, turn right!" Dean turned as hard as he could and just barely made the turn without hitting the truck. "Did you make the turn?"

"Yeah I made the turn!" Dean yelled down the phone. "You're gonna need to move this thing along a lot faster."

"Alright, you see a road up a head?"

"No!" Dean said, then, "No, wait, yeah I see it!"

"Okay, turn left!" Sam ordered him.

"What?" Dean looked behind him and saw that not only was the truck gaining, the truck was coming up on his left and he wouldn't be able to turn. As the truck came up beside him, he braked suddenly and the truck sped past him. He turned as quickly as he could and sped down the road. "Okay, now what?"

"You need to go exactly seven tenths of a mile and stop."

"Stop?" Dean screamed at him.

"Exactly seven tenths, Dean." Nora stood a little way behind Sam and had no idea what he was doing but he seemed to know. It was all she could to keep from biting her nails in anxiety.

Dean closely watched his odometer slowly counted upwards. He counted to seven in his head, in time with it and when he reached seven he paused, hit the brakes and turned around to face the way he came. The truck appeared, revving, at the beginning of the road and just sat there.

"Dean, you still there?" Sam asked, worried.

"Yeah."

"What's happening?"

"It's just staring at me, what do I do?" Dean asked.

"Just what you are doing," Sam said. "Bringing it to you." Nora widened her eyes at Sam but said nothing.

The truck revved at Dean then, seeming to decide that Dean wasn't coming towards it, sped towards him. Dean watched, terrified, as the monster truck hurtled towards him. He held his ground and then, when the truck reached him, it disappeared and moved right through him but did not appear out the other side.

"Dean?" Sam asked. "You still there? Dean?"

Dean put his phone to his ear slowly. "Where'd it go?"

"Dean, you're where the church was," Sam told him. Nora relaxed so much she fell to the ground and couldn't get up again.

"What church?"

"The place Cyrus burned down and murdered all those kids."

"There's not a whole lot left of it, Sam."

"Church ground is still hallowed ground whether the church is there or not," Sam reminded him. "And when evil spirits cross over hallowed ground, sometime they're destroyed so I figured maybe that would get rid of it."

"Maybe?" Dean asked. "Maybe! What if you were wrong?"

"Huh," Sam said. "Honestly that thought hadn't occurred to me."

Dean stared at his phone before hanging up. "'Oh it honestly didn't occur to me'" Dean mimicked. "I'm gonna kill him."

OoOoOoO

At the motel room, Dean and Nora were back to worrying about Janaya. Her stuff was all still here, including her wallet but she was still missing. Suddenly, Nora's cellphone rang and she hastened to answer it. "Hello, Jay?" she asked hopefully. She paused and frowned. "Palari? What's wrong?" After a brief silence, Nora brought her hand to her mouth to keep herself from crying. "Are you -" Palari answered her unspoken question. "Can we -" Again, her question was answered before she could ask it. "Okay," Nora said, tears streaming down her face. "Love you too," she said before hanging up.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked. Nora dropped her phone onto the ground and looked at the two brothers.

"Jay, she... she was hit by a car when she was out on her walk and... she didn't make it." Dean sank to the ground, unable to speak. "Palari took the body back to New Zealand already and doesn't want to move it again so we won't be able to see her before she's cremated and they're not having a funeral because she didn't want one." Nora choked down her tears.

"Nor, what did Jay want to tell me?" Dean asked. "You and Sam kept referring to something she wanted to tell me. What is it?"

Nora breathed in shakily. "She... she was pregnant."

OoOoOoO

**Please don't kill me! I swear, if you bare with me, everything will turn out fine. I promise. Also, this is a slightly revised version of this chapter.**


	10. Nightmare

**Woo! Chapter 10! So, if I remember correctly, after this one, there will only be eight more chapters. Wow, nearly done. Enjoy!**

OoOoOoO

The man drove his sedan into the garage and turned the engine off. As he prepared to get out of the car, the garage door shut behind him. He frowned, fairly sure he hadn't pushed the button yet. Suddenly, the car doors locked themselves and refused to move. The car started itself and slowly the garage began to fill with car fumes. As the radio tried to tune itself, the car fumes found their way into the car through the air conditioning vents, making the man cough and try harder to get out of the car. He tried to kick the door open but eventually the carbon monoxide became too much for him and he passed out.

OoOoOoO

Sam sat up suddenly in his bed, causing Nora to jolt awake.

"What's wrong?" she asked sleepily.

Sam looked at her for a moment then sprang out of bed. "Dean, wake up," he said, hitting his older brother on the head.

Dean groaned and waved his brother away but could not return to sleep. He slowly sat up and looked around him, confused. "Where's Jay?" he asked. Nora looked at him sadly and then he remembered. "Dammit," he whispered. "Stop letting me sleep."

Sam, who was busy trying to get dressed, nodded. "Sure, stop sleeping, get your ass out of bed, get dressed and get in the car."

"What's happening?" Dean asked, doing as he was told.

"We have to go, now," Sam told him, throwing his stuff into his bag.

"Go where?" Nora asked. "What the hell is going on, Sam?"

"I'll explain in the car," he said, "now get up."

OoOoOoO

Sam had finished explaining to Nora and Dean about his dream that he was sure was a vision and was now on the phone with the DMV. "Macreedy," Sam said. "Detective Macreedy. Badge number one-five-eight. I've got a signal four-eighty in progress. I need the registered owner of a two-door sedan, Michigan license plate Mary-Frank-six-zero-three-seven." He paused as he waited for the person on the other end to answer. "Yeah okay, just hurry," he said when he was put on hold.

"Sammy, relax, I'm sure it's just a nightmare," Dean said as he peered through the rain streaked windscreen. Nora was lying in the back seat sleeping.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sam said.

"I mean it, you know, a normal, everyday, naked in class nightmare," Dean said. "This license plate, it won't check out."

"It felt different, Dean, real," Sam insisted. "Like when I dreamed about our old house and Jessica."

"Well yeah, that makes sense. You're dreaming about _our_ house, _your _girlfriend," Dean pointed out. "This guy in your dream, you ever seen him before?"

"No," Sam admitted.

"No, exactly," Dean said. "Why would you have premonitions about some random dude in Michigan?"

"I don't know," Sam said. "Yes I'm here," he said into his phone. He looked at Dean as he repeated what the person on the other end of the line told him and wrote it down. "Jim Miller, Saginaw, Michigan. Do you have a street address?... Yeah, I got it. Thanks." He hung up the phone. "It checks out," Sam said, sighing. "How far are we?"

"From Saginaw?" Dean nodded. "A couple of hours."

Sam stared out the window. "Drive faster," he said and Dean did as he was told.

OoOoOoO

By the time they reached Jim Miller's home, Nora was awake, Jim Miller was being carted off in a body bag and the police were everywhere. They got out of the car joined the crowd of people that had gathered outside the Miller home.

"What happened?" Dean asked a woman who was standing between him and Sam.

"Suicide," the woman answered. "I can't believe it."

"Did you know him?" Sam asked.

"Saw him every Sunday at St Augustine's," she said. "He always seems – seemed – so normal. Guess you never know what's going on behind close doors."

"Guess not," Dean agreed.

"How are they saying it happened?" Nora asked from behind the woman.

"I heard they found him in the garage," the woman said. "Locked inside his car with the engine running."

"Do you know about what time they found him?" Sam asked.

"Oh, it only happened an hour or two ago," the woman said. "Oh, his poor family. I can't even imagine what they must be going through." Sam looked at the family who were standing in the door way of the house. A blonde woman, who he assumed to be the wife, was crying and being comforted by a man she must have been close to. And a young man, about his own age, who appeared to be Jim Miller's son, was staring blankly into nothing in shock. Close to tears, Sam walked back to the Impala, angry with himself. Dean and Nora followed him worriedly.

"Sam, we got here as fast as we could," Dean said.

"Not fast enough," Sam told him. "It just doesn't make any sense. Why would I even have these premonitions unless there was a chance I could stop them from happening?"

Dean sighed. "I don't know."

"But I might," Nora said, sliding her hand into Sam's. He looked at her questioningly. "Sometimes, what's going to happen is going to happen, and there's nothing you can do to stop it," she said. Dean opened his mouth to say something but she stopped him. "But you can learn from it."

"What had I learned from Jim Miller's death?" Sam asked. "I didn't even know the guy."

"Maybe his death wasn't supposed to teach you something, Sam, maybe the vision was supposed to lead you here so that you could learn something later."

"Okay," Sam said, nodding slowly. "But what could have killed him?"

"Maybe it was a suicide," Dean said. "You know? Nothing supernatural about it?"

Sam shook his head. "I'm telling you, I watched it happen. He was murdered by something,Dean, it trapped him in the garage."

"Like what?" Dean asked. "A spirit? A poltergeist? What?"

"I don't know what it was," Sam whispered angrily. "I don't know why I'm having these dreams, I don't know what the hell is happening, Dean."

"Okay, boys," Nora said, stopping what she was sure was about to become an argument. "It's the middle of the night, we're all tired, well, I'm not, but you obviously are. So we are going to find ourselves a motel, go to sleep and figure something out in the morning. And until then, there will be no arguing, bickering, squabbles, quarrels or anything remotely similar, okay?" Sam and Dean nodded sullenly. "Good, now in the car."

OoOoOoO

"So, you boys thought of a plan yet?" Nora asked over breakfast the next morning.

Dean shrugged. "Sort of," he said. "We know we need to check out the house and talk to the family but..."

"But they're completely devastated over Jim's death so they're not going to want to talk to two random guys they don't even know," Sam finished.

"Hmmm," Nora said thoughtfully. "I have an idea who they might talk to."

"Who?" Sam asked.

She grinned at them.

OoOoOoO

Dean pushed the doorbell of the Miller home trying not to laugh. Nora had suggested they dress up as priests, because she remembered the woman they had spoken to said they attended church every Sunday. Sam was uncomfortable. "This has got to be a whole new low for us," he whispered to Dean.

A small balding man opened the door and Dean smiled. "Good afternoon," he greeted. "I'm Father Simmons this is Father Freely, we're new junior priests down at St Augustine's. May we come in?" The balding man nodded ushered them in. "Thank you."

"We're very sorry for your loss," Sam said as he passed the man. The man just nodded.

"It's in difficult times like these when the Lord's guidance is most needed," Dean said but was stopped by the balding man.

"Look, you wanna pitch your whole 'Lord has a plan' thing, fine, but don't pitch it to me, my brother's dead."

"Roger, please," Jim Miller's wife said from behind Sam and Dean.

"Excuse me," Roger said and walked off.

"I'm sorry about my brother-in-law," the woman said. "He's just, so upset about Jim's death. Um, would you like some coffee?"

Dean smiled. "That would be great."

As the woman walked off Sam leaned over to whisper to Dean, "Remind me again why Nora isn't doing this?"

Dean shrugged. "She's not a people person? I don't know just shush," he said and followed Jim's wife to the coffee.

"It was wonderful of you to stop by," she said. "The support of the church means so much right now." She passed Sam a cup and he smiled to her.

"Sure," Dean said. "After all, we are all God's children," The woman gave him a strange look and walked off.

"Hey, tone it down a little bit 'Father'," Sam said.

Dean shrugged. "I can't help it, I feel weird here."

"Why? You were fine before."

"Yeah, but there weren't grieving people before," Dean said. "It just reminds me that..."

Sam stopped him. "I know," he said. Mrs. Miller came back and sat down next to Dean.

"Are you alright Father?" she asked.

Dean blinked and realized he had tears in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "So, uh, did your husband have a history of depression?"

Mrs. Miller shook her head. "Nothing like that," she said. "We had our ups and downs, like every one, but we were happy. I just don't understand... how Jim could do something like this..." she trailed off into tears but tried to compose herself.

"I'm so sorry you had to find him like that," Sam said.

"Actually," Mrs. Miller said, finally finding her voice again, "Our son, Max, was the one who found him."

"Do you mind if I go talk to him?" Sam asked.

Mrs. Miller smiled. "Thank you, Father," she said.

Sam nodded and got up, leaving Dean with the grieving wife. "Max?" Sam asked. "Hey, I'm Sam."

Dean handed Mrs. Miller a tissue and tried to forget the fact that he was going through very similar pain. "Mrs. Miller, you have a lovely home," he said. "How long have you lived here?"

"We moved in about five years ago," she said.

Dean nodded. "You know the problem with these old houses; I bet you have all kinds of head aches."

"Like what?"

"Well, weird leaks," he said. "Uh, electrical shortages, odd sounds at night, that kind of thing."

Mrs. Miller shook her head. "No, nothing like that." She tried to smile. "It's been perfect."

Dean smiled. "Uh, may I use your restroom?"

Mrs. Miller nodded. "It's just upstairs."

"So what was your dad like?" Sam asked Max.

Max shrugged. "Just a normal dad."

"And you live at home now?"

"Yeah, I'm trying to save up for school but it's hard," Max told him.

Sam looked down. "So, when you found your dad...?"

Max sighed. "I woke up, I heard the engine running," he paused. "I don't know why he did it."

Sam nodded sadly. "I know it's rough, losing a parent. Especially when you don't have all the answers."

Meanwhile, Dean had found upstairs and was exploring with an interesting looking device but seemed to be finding nothing. He jumped when he heard someone coming up the stairs but relaxed when he saw that it was Sam. "Anything?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head. "Zip," he said and followed Sam down the stairs.

OoOoOoO

"So, what have you got?" Nora asked, setting plates full of food in front of the boys.

"A lot of nothing," Sam said, taking a forkful of food and shoving it into his mouth. "Wow, did you make this?"

Nora nodded. "Why? Is it bad?"

"This is delicious!" Dean said, his mouth full of food.

Nora laughed. "Why thank you, I do try. So, nothing?"

"Nothing," Sam said. "Nothing bad has happened in the Miller house since it was built."

"What about the land?" Dean asked after swallowing his food.

"No graveyards, battlegrounds, tribal lands or any other kind of atrocity on or near the property,"

Dean shrugged. "Hey, man, I told you. I searched the house up and down. There were no cold spots, no sulfur scents. Nada." Dean had finished his meal and had moved on to cleaning his guns.

"And the family said everything was normal?" Nora asked.

"Well, I mean, if there was a demon or poltergeist in there don't you think someone would have noticed something? I used the infra-red thermal scanner, man, nothing."

"Well, that is a whole lot of nothing," Nora said.

"So, you think Jim Miller killed himself?" Sam asked them. "And my dream was some sort of freaky coincidence?"

"I don't know," Nora said, squeezing his shoulder comfortingly.

"Me neither," Dean said. "All I know is there is nothing supernatural about that house."

"Yeah," Sam said, squeezing the bridge of his nose to push away a headache. "You know, maybe, uh, maybe it has nothing to do with the house." He blinked quickly as the headache got stronger and stronger. "Maybe it's just, uh, maybe it's connected to Jim... in some other way."

"Sam? Are you okay?" Nora asked, getting on the floor in front of him.

Sam fell forwards slightly onto Nora. "Arrgh, my head!"

"Sam?" Dean asked, moving away from his guns and over to Sam and Nora.

"Sam? What's happening?" Nora asked worriedly.

Sam looked up at Nora and Dean but could no longer see them. Instead, he could see Roger Miller going into his kitchen with a bag of groceries, pulling a beer out of a bag and taking a long drink. Something moved passed him but Sam couldn't see clearly what it was. Roger started to put the groceries away but the window behind him opened. He put the packet of bread down and frowned at the window, going over to inspect it. He pushed it back down slowly and locked it shut then returned to unpacking the groceries. He put some things in the freezer and while he wasn't looking, the lock unlocked itself and the window shot open again. He took another swig of beer before trying to close the window again but this time it wouldn't budge. He leaned backwards out the window to see if he could see anything wrong with it on the outside. Suddenly, the window slammed closed, decapitating him. There was a blur and then Sam was back in the motel room with Nora and Dean. "It's happening again," he said frantically. "Something's going to kill Roger Miller."

"Oh shit," Nora said. "Listen, you guys go, I'll stay here, it'll be easier if I'm not there to slow you down." Sam and Dean nodded then ran out to the car.

OoOoOoO

"Roger Miller," Sam said to the Directory Service person on the phone. "No, just the address please...okay, thanks. Four-fifty Westgrove, apartment eleven-twenty."

Dean looked at him. "Are you okay?" he asked

"Yeah," Sam said although truthfully he felt a little weak.

"If you're gonna hurl I can pull the car over, you know, "cause the upholstery..."

"I'm fine," Sam interrupted. "Just drive."

"Alright," Dean said, focusing back on the road.

Sam sighed. "Dean, I'm scared, man, these nightmares were bad enough but now I'm seeing things when I'm awake? And these... visions or whatever are getting more intense and painful."

"Come on, man, you'll be alright," Dean assured him.

"What is it about the Miller's?" Sam asked. "Why am I connected to them? Why am I watching them die? Nora said I might be learning something or whatever but I'm not except maybe that this whole vision things is becoming more powerful. Why the hell is this happening to me?"

"I don't know, Sam, but we'll figure it out," Dean told him. "We face the unexplainable every single day, this is just another thing."

"No," Sam said. "It's never been us, it's never been in the family like this. Tell me the truth. Tell me this doesn't freak you out."

Dean stared out the windscreen. "This doesn't freak me out," he said. "And listen, you've got Nora with you, okay? She's got the whole psychic thing going too. Maybe not as hard core as yours but she knows. She'll help you out."

Sam looked at him for a moment then nodded. "Maybe..."

OoOoOoO

As they reached Roger's apartment building, they saw him carrying groceries towards it.

"Roger!" Sam yelled out of the car.

Roger looked at them. "What are you guys, missionaries? Leave me alone," he said and went into the apartment building.

"Roger, please!" Sam yelled but Roger wasn't listening. Dean hurried to park the car and they got out and ran after him. "Hey, Roger! Hey, hey, hey, hey," Sam tried to catch him before he got inside but Roger shut the door on him. "We're trying to help."

"I don't want your help," he said and walked off.

"Shit. Come on," he said, leading Sam around the other side of the building. There was a gate in their way but, after making sure no one was looking, Sam kicked it down and they ran through, climbing up the side of the building. They reached the fire escape and ran up it towards Roger's room. Sam climbed the steps two at a time but as he reached the level below Roger's he heard the window slam shut and Roger's head fall into the flower box under the window. Sam froze but Dean sprinted passed him to see what had happened. There was blood all over the window, the flowers and the wall behind the flower box. Dean shook his head, sorry they were too late. Then sense took over and her pulled out a couple of rags and handed one to Sam. "Here, start wiping down your finger prints," he said. "We wouldn't want to cops to know we were here." When Sam hesitated, he thrust the rag at him. "Go, go, go!" As Sam did as he was told, Dean looked at the window by the fire escape. "I'm gonna take a look inside," he said then climbed in.

Later, as they walked back to the car, Dean shook his head. "I'm telling you there was nothing in there. There were no signs either, just like the Miller's house."

"I saw something," Sam insisted. "In the vision, like a dark shape. Something was stalking Roger."

"Well, whatever it was, we can be sure it's not connected to their house," Dean said.

"What if it's connected to the family itself?" Sam asked. "Maybe a... vengeful spirit?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, there have been a few known to latch onto families, follow them for years. Basically like a curse. So maybe Roger and Jim Miller got into something heavy, something curse worthy."

"And now something's out for revenge," Sam nodded. "And the men in their family are dying... hey, you think Max is in danger?"

Dean shrugged. "Let's figure it out before he is. Come on, I'm sure Nora will have some kind of wisdom to shed on this."

Sam nodded then laughed slightly. "You know, I know one thing I have in common with these people."

"What's that?" Dean asked as he started the car.

"Both our families are cursed."

"Or family's not cursed," Dean said defensively. "We just... had our dark spots."

Sam laughed. "Our dark spots are pretty dark."

Dean frowned at him. "You're dark," he countered and drove off.

OoOoOoO

The next day, Dean and Sam were back at the Miller house, posing as priests and Nora was doing some research on curses and vengeful spirits.

"My Mom's resting, she's pretty wrecked," Max told Sam and Dean.

"Of course," Dean said.

"All these people kept coming with, like, casseroles," Max said, pointing to the kitchen table. "I finally had to tell them all to go away. You know, 'cause nothing says 'I'm sorry' like a tuna casserole." Sam laughed slightly and Max tried to smile. He gestured for them to sit down.

"How're you holding up?" Sam asked.

"I'm okay," Max said.

"Your dad and your uncle were close?"

"Yeah, I guess, I mean, they were brothers," Max said. "They used to hang out all the time when I was little."

"But not lately?" Sam asked.

"No it's not that," Max said. "It's just... we used to be neighbors when I was a kid. We lived across town in this house and Uncle Roger lived next door so he was over all the time."

"Right," Sam said. "So, how was it in that house when you were a kid?"

Max shrugged. "It was fine. Why?"

Dean looked closely at him. "All good memories?" he asked. "You don't remember anything unusual? Something involving your father and your uncle maybe?"

Max looked awkward and uncomfortable. "Why do... why do you ask?"

Dean shrugged. "It was just a question."

Max seemed to relax. "No, there was nothing, we were totally normal. Happy."

"Good," Dean said. "That's good." Max smiled. "Well, you must be exhausted so, we should take off."

"Right," Sam said, nodding, "Thanks."

Outside, Dean was not convinced. "No one's family is completely normal and happy," he said. "Did you see when he was talking about his old house?"

Sam nodded. "He sounded scared."

"Yeah, Max isn't telling us everything," Dean said. "I say we find the old neighbourhood, find out what life was really like at the Millers."

Sam nodded. "Should we get Nora?" he asked. "She must be getting bored being left alone. I mean after..." he stopped when he remembered who he was talking to.

"No, it's okay," Dean said. "You're right. We can't leave her alone all the time now since she has no one else... to talk too."

"You okay?" Sam asked, noticing Dean's shaky breaths.

Dean shook his head. "I'm fine," he said. "Let's go."

OoOoOoO

"Have you lived in the neighbourhood very long?" Nora asked a friendly looking man who was out gardening.

"Yeah, almost twenty years now," the man answered smiling. "It's nice and quiet. Why? You looking to buy?"

"No," Sam said. "Actually we were just wondering if you might recall a family that used to live right across the street, I believe."

"Yeah, the Millers," Dean added. "They had a little boy named Max."

The man's eyes turned slightly sad. "Yeah, I remember them," he said. "Their brother had the place next door. So what's this about? That poor kid okay?"

Nora looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, in my life I've never seen a child treated like that," the man said. "I'd hear Mr. Miller yelling and throwing things clear across the street. He was a mean drunk. Used to beat the tar out of Max. Bruises, broke his arm two times that I know of."

"And this was going on regularly?" Sam asked, astounded.

"Pretty much every day," the man said, nodding. "In fact, that thug brother of his was just as likely to take a swing at the boy. But the worst part was the stepmother. She'd just stand there, checked out, never lifted a finger to protect him. I must have called the police seven or eight times and it never did any good."

"Now, you said stepmother," Dean said, a questioning look on his face.

"I think his real mother died, some sort of accident... a car accident I think," he said. "Are you okay there?" he asked, looking at Sam. Nora and Dean looked at Sam and he appeared to be having another vision. Nora looked worried and Dean went over to him and started helping him back to the car.

"Yeah, he's fine he just gets really bad migraines sometimes," Nora explained, beginning to follow them. "Thank you for your time."

Sam tried to blink through the pain but then he was in the Miller home, watching Mrs. Miller chopping vegetables.

"I don't know what you mean by that," she was saying to someone he couldn't see. "You know I never did anything."

"That's right," someone said. It was Max. "You didn't do, anything." He glared at her and the knife she'd been using started jolting around the table. "You didn't stop them, not once." The knife lifted from the table and headed towards Mrs. Miller.

She gasped. "How did you..." She backed away from the knife and into the wall. The knife was barely a millimeter away from her face. "Max, please," she pleaded.

"But every time, you stood there and watched, pretending it wasn't happening," Max spat.

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Miller said.

"No you're not," Max said. "You just don't wanna die." And with that, the knife pulled away from Mrs. Miller and she relaxed. Then, with a jerk of Max's head, the knife shot into Mrs. Miller's head.

OoOoOoO

"Max is doing it," Sam said when they were back in the car and driving towards the Miller house. "Every single thing that I've seen."

"Are you sure?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I saw him." He blinked through the remnants of the vision.

"How's he doing it?" Nora asked.

"I don't know," Sam said. "It looked like telekinesis."

"So he's psychic?" Dean asked. "A spoon bender?"

"I didn't even realise it but this whole time he was there," Sam said. "He was outside the garage when his dad died, he was in the apartment when his uncle died. These visions, I wasn't connecting to the Miller's I was connecting to Max. The thing I don't get is why? Because we're so alike?"

"Max is nothing like you," Nora said from the back.

"Well, we both have psychic abilities, we both -"

"You both what?" Dean asked. "Max is a monster, he's already killed two people now he's gunning for a third."

"Well, with what he went through, those beatings, to want revenge on those people, I hate to say it, but it's not that insane."

"Yeah, but it doesn't justify murdering your entire family," Nora pointed out.

"He's no different than anything else we've hunted," Dean said. "We've gotta end him."

"Dean," Nora said. "That is a terrible idea."

"Then what?" Dean asked. "Hand him over to the police and say 'lock him up officer, he kills with the power if his mind'?"

"Dean, he is a person, you are not going to kill him," Sam said. "We can talk to him. Hey, promise me you'll follow my lead on this one."

Dean sighed. "Alright fine, but I'm not letting him hurt anyone else," he said and pulled a gun out of the glove compartment and tucked it inside his jacket.

"Nora, you stay here," Sam said.

"No way," Nora said. "I'm done sitting and waiting, besides, two psychics are better than one at this point." Sam nodded and they all got out of the car.

Sam and Dean broke the door down before the knife had been lifted off the table. "Father's?" Mrs. Miller asked. "Who's that?" she indicated Nora.

"Uh, my girlfriend," Sam said.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked.

"Sorry to interrupt," Dean said

"Max, could we talk to you outside for a second?" Nora asked.

Max looked at her. "About what? I don't even know you."

"It's private," Sam said, "I wouldn't want to bother your mother with it. We won't be long at all though."

"Okay," Max said and followed them outside. As Dean leaned forward to open the door, his jacket fell open and Max caught sight of the gun. The door slammed shut and Dean couldn't open it. The blinds all shut and Max backed away from them. "You're not priests!" he said and Dean pulled the gun out of his pocket and pointed it at Max. The gun flew from Dean's hand and landed at Max's feet. Max picked it up and pointed it at Sam, Dean and Nora.

"Max what are you doing?" Mrs. Miller asked. Max used his telekinesis to slam her into the bench and knock her out.

"Max calm down," Nora said, stepping forward slightly.

"Who are you!"

"We just want to talk," she said. "Dean can go away and Sam and I will talk, no guns, no weapons, nothing."

"Why do I have to leave?"

"Because you were the moron who brought the gun," Sam hissed.

"Talk about what?" Max asked still pointing the gun at them.

Sam stepped forward. "I saw you do it, I saw you kill your dad and your uncle before it happened."  
"What?"

"I'm having visions, Max, about you."

"You're crazy," Max said.

"May I point out that you're the one who moves things with your mind?" Nora said.

"You were gonna launch a knife at your step-mom, right here," Sam said, pointing to just below the eye. "Is it that hard to believe? Max, I was drawn here, alright? I think I'm here to help you."

"No one can help me," Max said.

"Max, we can," Nora said, "We understand what's happening to you."

"We can just talk," Sam said, "You, me, Nora we'll just talk. Dean and your step-mom can leave."

"No one leaves this house," Max insisted.

"They don't have to," Nora said. "They can go upstairs."

"Listen, Max, you're in charge here, okay? We all know that no one's going to do anything that you don't want them to, but I'm talking five minutes here, that's all."

Max hesitated. "Five minutes," he said. "But not her, just you. Go."

Dean picked up his step-mother and carried her upstairs, Nora following behind, and Sam and Max went into the living room.

"Look, Max, I can't begin to understand what you went through," Sam said.

"That's right you can't," Max said, making a letter opener stand on it's point.

"But, this has to stop," Sam said.

"It will," Max told him. "After my step-mother."

"No," Sam said. "You need to let her go."

"Why?"

"Did she beat you?"

"No," Max admitted. "But she never tried to save me, she's a part of it too."

"Look, what they did to you Max, what they all did to you growing up, they deserve to be punished -"

"Growing up?" Max interrupted. "Try last week." He stood up and lifted his shirt up so Sam could see the bruising and the cuts. "My Dad still hit me. Just in places people wouldn't see it. Old habits die hard I guess." He sat back down.

"I'm sorry," Sam said.

"When I first found out I could move things, it was a gift," Max said. "My whole life, I was helpless but now I had this. So last week, Dad gets drunk, first time in a long time, and he beats me to hell. And then I knew what I had to do."

"Why didn't you just leave?" Sam asked.

"It wasn't about getting away," Max said and the letter opener dropped. "Just knowing that they'd still be out there. It was about, not being afraid. When my dad used to look at me, there was hate in his eyes. Do you know what that feels like?"

Sam shook his head. "No."

"He blamed me for everything, Max said. "For his job, for his life, for my Mom's death."

Sam looked at him. "Why would he blame you for your Mom's death?"

"Because she died in my nursery while I was asleep in my crib," Max said. Sam eyes widened. "As if that makes it my fault."

"She died in your nursery?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, there was a fire," Max explained. "And he'd get drunk and babble about how she died in some insane way. He said she burned up, pinned to the ceiling."

"Listen to me, Max," Sam said. "What your dad said, about what happened to your mom, it's real."

"What?"

"It happened to my mom too," Sam told him. "Exactly the same. My nursery, my crib, my dad saw her on the ceiling."

"Then your dad must have been as drunk as mine."

Sam shook his head. "No, it's the same thing Max, the same thing killed our mothers."

"That's impossible," Max said.

"This must be why I've been having visions during the day," Sam said to himself. "Why they've been getting more intense. Because you and I must be connected in some way. Your abilities they started, seven months ago, right?"

"How'd you know that?"

"Because that's when my abilities started, Max. I mean, yours seem to be much further along but still, this means something. For some reason you and I... you and I were chosen."

"For what?"

"I don't know," Sam said. "But Dean and I, my brother and I, we're hunting for your mom's killer and we can find answers. Answers that can help us both. But you gotta let us go, Max, you gotta let your step-mother go."

Max thought for a moment then shook his head. "No, what they did to me, I still have nightmares. I'm still scared all the time. And I'm just waiting for the next beating. I'm just tired of being scared. If I do this then it will be over."

"No, don't you get it?" Sam asked. "It won't. The nightmares won't end, Max, not like this. It's just more pain and it makes you as bad as them. Max, you don't have to go through all this by yourself."

Max looked at him for a long time. "I'm sorry," he said. Then Sam was thrown backwards into a closet and a book case was slid in front of it.

Upstairs, Nora was tending to the cut on Mrs. Miller's head and Dean was hovering near by. "I don't like this," he said. "That kid is unstable. If he hurts you I..."

"Sam will deal with it," Nora said. "I'm sure -" She stopped as the door opened of its own accord and Max walked in. Dean walked towards him but was thrown backwards into the wall. Nora and Mrs. Miller stood up and backed away. Max pulled Dean's gun out from his pocket and let it hover in mid air. It pointed itself towards Mrs. Miller. Dean pulled Nora away from Mrs. Miller and stood in front of the gun.

"Stay back," Max said. "It's not about you."

"You want to kill her you gotta go through me first," Dean said.

Max thought for a moment. "Okay," he said. The trigger on the gun pulled back and shot Dean in the head causing Nora and Mrs. Miller to scream. There was a blur then Sam stood leaning against the closet door with a killer headache.

He saw Dean's dead body again and panicked. "No!" he screamed and felt the pressure against the door lifted as the book case moved itself away from the closet. He cautiously pushed the door open then sprinted upstairs. He burst into the room before Max pulled the trigger. "No, don't!" he said and Max hesitated. "Please, Max, we can help you. But this, what you're doing, it's not the solution. It's not going to fix anything."

Max looked at him then relaxed. "You're right," he said then turned the gun around and shot himself in the head. Nora screamed and jumped backwards.

OoOoOoO

"Max attacked me and threatened me with a gun," Mrs. Miller told the police officer.

He nodded and wrote it down. "And these three?" he said, pointing to Sam, Dean and Nora.

"They're uh, family friends," she said. "I called them as soon as Max came, I was scared. They tried to stop him, they fought for the gun..."

"Where did Max get the gun?" The officer asked.

"I don't know. He showed up with it and he..." she trailed off into tears.

"It's alright Mrs. Miller," the officer said.

"I've lost everyone," she sobbed.

The officer turned to Sam, Dean and Nora. "We'll give you a call if we have any further questions."

"Thank you officer," Dean said and led Sam and Nora out of the house.

"You know, we're lucky we had Dad," Sam said to Dean who smiled.

"Well, I never thought I'd here you say that," he said.

"Well, it could have gone a whole other way after Mom died," he said. "A little more tequila, a little less Demon hunting and we could have had Max's childhood. All things considered, we turned out okay thanks to him."

"And, did your visions teach you anything?" Nora asked.

Sam nodded. "Max was like me," he said. "His mom died the same way, his abilities started about the same time... it just doesn't make sense."

OoOoOoO

"I've been thinking," Sam said as they put all their stuff back into the car.

"Well, that's never a good thing," Dean said.

"Dean," Nora scolded.

"I'm serious, man, why would this Demon or whatever kill Mom, Jessica, Nor's parents and Max's mother, you know, what does it want?"

"No idea," Dean said. Nora shook her head to say the same.

"Do you think maybe it was after us? After Max and Nora and me?"

"Why would you say that?" Dean asked.

"Well, visions, telekineses, seeing dead people, we all have abilities. Maybe he was after us for some reason."

"Well, I had my ability way before my parents were killed, and my parents weren't killed in my nursery, they were killed in their bedroom and whoever killed them didn't even come looking for me. So, that rules the 'it was after me' option out," Nora said.

Dean nodded. "Besides, if he had wanted you, he would have just taken you. This is not your fault and it's not about you."

"Then what is it about?"

"It's about that damn thing that did this to our families. The thing that we're gonna find and the thing that we're gonna kill. And that's all."

"Actually, there's something else," Sam said.

"Oh jeez, what?"

"When Max locked me in that closet, with the book case against the door, I moved it."

"Ha, you got a little more upper body strength than I gave you credit for," Dean said.

"No, you idiot, with his mind," Nora said.

"Oh, right," Dean said. He looked around himself and picked up a spoon. "Bend this."

"I can't turn it on and off, Dean," Sam said.

"Well how'd you do it?"

"I don't know, I can't control it," Sam said. "I saw you die and it just came out of me like a punch. You know, like a freak adrenalin thing."

"Well, it could either be an extension of your current ability or, more likely, just what you said, a freak adrenalin thing," Nora said. Both boys gave her questioning looks. "Well, in normal people, you know how you get the mother who can lift a tree or a car to save her child? In psychics and people with similar mind abilities, when they get a huge adrenalin rush, they don't lift things; they have a sudden burst of power. Either a much more powerful version of their own power or something completely different that they will never be able to do again."

"Well, I'm voting for the 'never happening again' scenario if you don't mind," Dean said.

"Aren't you worried I might turn into Max or something?"

"No," Nora and Dean said at the same time.

"Why not?"

"Because you have one advantage Max didn't have," Dean said.

"What? Dad? Because Dad's not here right now, Dean."

Nora laughed. "No, us."

"As long as you got one of us around, nothing bad is going to happen to you," Dean said.

Sam smiled. "Oh, uh, being around the Millers, reminded me of something."

"What?"

"We never had a memorial for Jay."

"She didn't want one," Nora said. "She didn't want a whole bunch of depressed people like her at a funeral. She wanted a party to celebrate her life."

Sam nodded. "I know, so, I just think we should go to a bar or something and get drunk in her honour."

Dean thought for a moment. "I think I can do that, Nor?"

"I know I'm going to regret this but let's go," she said. "But I would like to point out, I can't legally drink."

Sam shrugged. "You have fake ID right?" Nora nodded. "Then there's no problem. They piled into the car and sped towards the nearest bar.

OoOoOoO

After three rounds, Nora had begun to tell stories about when they had lived in New Zealand. "She was so unbelievably protective of her family," she said. "And, you know, she's so small so most people could take her down easy. But one day, she found out her brother had been bullied at school and she was so angry, it was almost scary. She found him and the guy was, like, twice her size. She had me with her and I'm bigger than her but you know, I'm not that big. She went right up to the guy and started yelling at him. He just looked at her like she was insane then shoved her but for some reason, she didn't move when he touched her, I think she was using her powers to back her up. She shoved him back and the guy goes toppling over and I'm back there trying not to laugh. Then she tells him that if he ever touches her brother or anyone she knows again, she'll kill him, slowly and painfully. I'm pretty sure she was kidding but the guy thought she was completely serious. He looked terrified and it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen," she laughed at the memory. "Then she sort of feigned a lunge at him and he screamed and scrambled off. You always felt safe around her, I mean sure, she used her powers but what else was she going to use them for? She never actually hurt anyone, but she made sure people knew not to mess with her friends and family."

"That sounds like Jay," Dean said as he downed another beer. "Should we get going?"

Nora shook her head. "Not yet," she said and ordered another round. When they all had another glass, she raised hers and said, "To the best friend I ever had."

"To the strongest girl I've ever known," Sam added.  
"To the most beautiful girl I'll ever meet," Dean said. "Present company excepted."

Nora laughed. "To Jay!"

OoOoOoO

**Oh and please remember to review. I thrive on feedback you know.**


	11. The Benders

**Oooh, the more chapters I put up, the closer we get to the end! Who'd have thought?**

OoOoOoO

The little boy had bundled his blankets together and was clutching them tightly as, eyes wide, he watched the horror movie in front of him. He heard a strange noise coming from outside his window and he hesitantly went to see what is was. When he got to his window, the noise had stopped but he saw his neighbour, Mr. Jenkins, leaving his apartment with a trash bag. The little boy watched his neighbour dump his trash in the skip outside and walk slowly back to the apartment building. The little boy jumped as a scratching noise began to follow Mr. Jenkins around the parking lot. The scratching noise appeared to be coming from under a car and Mr. Jenkins bent down to see what it was. With a look of horror, he stood up and tried to get away but he was dragged under the car, screaming for help.

OoOoOoO

"I know you're just doing your job," the boy's mother said. "But the police have been here all week already. I don't see why we have to go through this again. The more he tells the story, the more he believes it's true."

"Mrs. McKay," Sam said, removing his hat. "We know you spoke to the local authorities."

"But, this seems like a matter for the state police," Dean said.

"Don't worry about how crazy it sounds, Evan, you just tell us what you saw," Sam said.

The little boy, Evan, looked up at Sam and Dean and nodded. "I was up late, watching TV, when I heard this weird noise."

"What did it sound like?" Sam asked.

Evan thought for a moment. "It sounded like... a monster."

"Tell the officers what you were watching on TV," Evan's mother said.

"Um, Godzilla versus Mothra," Evan said.

Dean grinned. "That's my favourite Godzilla movie," he said. "So much better than the original, huh?"

Evan nodded. "Totally."

"He likes the remake," Dean said, indicating Sam.

Evan grimace. "Yuck."

Sam cleared his throat and glared at Dean. "Evan, did you see what this thing was?"

"No," Evan admitted. "But I saw it grab Mr. Jenkins and it pulled him underneath the car."

"Then what?" Sam asked.  
"It took him away," Evan said, looking out the window. "I heard the monster leaving, it made this really scary sound."

"What did it sound like, Evan?"

"Like this whining growl."

Sam and Dean looked at each other then smiled at Evan and his mother. "Thanks for your time," Sam said and led Dean out of the building.

OoOoOoO

"So far the police have not ruled out foul play," Nora said when they had gathered at a bar later that night. "Apparently there were signs of a struggle."

"Maybe they're right, it could be just a kidnapping," Dean said, throwing another dart at the wall. "Maybe this isn't our kind of thing."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Sam said, flicking through the journal. "Except for this. Dad marked the area, Dean, possible hunting ground for a phantom attacker."

"A who now?" Nora asked.

The boys looked at her. "You know so much about stuff that we don't even know about and yet you don't know what a phantom attacker is?" Sam asked.

Nora pulled a face at him. "We've come across different things in our lives, Sam, you hunt a lot of stuff and what you haven't hunted, your Dad has and written it down. Whereas I just do research for school and find some interesting things along the way. So what the hell is a phantom attacker?"

"Okay, okay, sorry," Sam said. "It's something that is obviously not human that can appear and disappear at will. Sometimes their victims survive and are traumatized for life, other times the victims are never seen again."

Nora nodded. "Okay, so why would your dad mark this area as a hunting ground?"

"Well, he found a lot of local folklore about a dark figure that appears out at night, grabs people, then vanishes," Sam explained. "He found this too. This county has more missing persons per capita than anyone else in the state."

Dean looked at the page for a moment. "That is weird," he said before returning to the dart board.

Nora had picked up the journal and flicked through it until she found the page on phantom attackers. "It says here phantom attackers usually take people from their beds," she said. "Jenkins was taken from a parking lot."

"Well, there are all kinds," Sam said. "Spring-heeled Jacks, Phantom Gassers, they take people anywhere, anytime."

Nora nodded. "Okay, I guess..."

"Look, I don't know if this is our kind of thing either," Sam said.

"But you're right," Dean said. "We should ask around more tomorrow."

Sam nodded. "Yeah... I saw a Motel about five miles back -"

"Whoa, whoa easy," Dean said. "Let's have another round."

Nora shook her head. "I am so not getting drunk ever again," she said. "Besides, we should get an early start. Maybe this time we can try a new thing where one of you stays in the car and I get to pretend to be a cop."

"Well, you really know how to have fun don't you grandma," Dean said. Nora poked her tongue out at him. "Fine, I'll meet you guys outside, I gotta take a leak."

Nora shook her head. "Thanks for the detail," she said before leaving the bar with Sam. They'd almost got back to the car when Nora stopped. "Shit, I left my jacket behind, I'll be right back," she said and ran back to the bar. Sam shrugged and turned back to the car. There was a strange scratching sound, like chains on concrete, coming from underneath a car nearby. He put the journal down on top of the Impala, pulled out a torch and bent down to look under the car next to it. He was hissed at by a small, ginger cat and he jumped backwards then laughed at himself as he stood up. Nora came out of the bar and ran towards the Impala.

"You took your time - " Sam started but stopped as something pulled him to the ground and started dragging him under the car.

"Sam!" Nora cried frantically. She grabbed his hands and tried to pull him back but whoever or whatever had him was too strong and took her and Sam both.

Dean wandered out of the bar into a silent parking lot. He found the journal on top of the Impala but no sign of Sam or Nora. They weren't in the car and they weren't behind the bar and Dean began to get worried. A bunch of bikers came out of the bar and Dean ran over to them. "Hey, you guys been outside in the last hour or so?" They shook their heads at him and walked away. Dean ran through the parking lot, looking in and under the other cars for any sign of them.

"Sam! Nora!" he called frantically but no one answered. "Sam!" He began wandering aimlessly through the parking lot, unsure of what to do. He looked up and noticed a pair of surveillance cameras on top of a lamp post. He walked out into the middle of the road and looked down both ways but he couldn't see anything. "Shit."

OoOoOoO

The next morning, Dean headed to the Sheriff's office in town to see if someone there could help him find Sam and Nora.

"So what can we do for you, Officer Washington?" the deputy in front of him asked, looking at his fake ID.

"I'm working a missing person's case," Dean told her.

"I didn't know the Jenkins case was being covered by the state police," she said, frowning at him.

"Uh, no, it's not," Dean said. "Actually this is someone else. Two people actually. My cousin and his girlfriend. We were having a few last night at this bar down by the highway and I haven't seen them since."

"Does your cousin or his girlfriend have a drinking problem?"

"Those two? Two beers and Sam's doing karaoke, and Nora's underage so she doesn't drink," Dean explained. "They weren't drunk, they were taken."

"Have you considered the possibility that they just wanted some alone time?"

Dean shook his head. "Not a possibility. They would have told me. Besides, they're still at the 'it's safe to leave them alone together and nothing will happen' stage of their relationship."

The deputy nodded. "Alright, what're their names?"

"Sam Winchester and Nora O'Reilly," Dean told her.

She sat down at a computer and typed in Nora's name first. "Nora O'Reilly," she said. "Huh, came over here from New Zealand for an exchange trip then applied for residency, which was granted. Parents are deceased?"

"Uh, yeah, they were murdered when she was about sixteen," Dean said. "She moved in with her friend before coming here."

The deputy nodded then typed in Sam's name. "Samuel Winchester," she said. "You know his brother died in St Louis and was suspected of murder?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, Dean... kinda the black sheep of the family," he explained. "Handsome though."

The deputy just nodded and typed some more. "Well, neither of them are showing up on any current field reports."

"Oh, I already have a lead," Dean said. "I saw a surveillance camera out by the highway."

"Uh huh, county traffic cam?"

"Right, I'm thinking the camera picked up whatever took them." The deputy gave him an odd look. "Or, whoever," he corrected himself.

"Well, I have access to the traffic cam footage, down at the county works department," she said. "But... well, in the meantime, let's do this the right way. Why don't you fill out a missing persons report and sit tight over here." She handed him the forms and Dean remembered what had happened the last time he'd filled one of these out.

"Officer, look, they're family, my only family, I look out for them. You gotta let me go with you," he said.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that."

"Well tell me something, your county has it's fair share of missing persons, any of them come back?" The deputy didn't say anything. "Sam and Nora are my responsibility, and they're coming back. I'm bringing them back."

OoOoOoO

"Sam?" Nora asked, tapping his cheek lightly. "Sam, please wake up I'm scared."

Sam slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. They were in a large cage inside what appeared to be a barn. On the opposite side of the barn was another cage with a man in it. He was either unconscious or dead, they couldn't tell. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know," Nora said. "I saw you getting dragged under a car and tried to pull you back but I guess they got me too. Next thing I know I'm waking up in cage with scenes from SAW running through my mind and I'm trying not to have a heart attack."

Sam wrapped her in a tight hug. "It'll be okay, Dean will find us." He looked over at the man in the other cage. "Who's that?"

"I don't know, I think it might be Mr. Jenkins," Nora said.

OoOoOoO

"Greg!" The deputy called to Dean who was sitting on a park bench waiting for her. "I think we've got something." She handed him the traffic cam pictures. "These traffic cams take an image every three seconds. It's part of the Amber Alert Program. These pictures were all taken about the time your cousin and his girlfriend went missing."

"This really isn't what I'm looking for," Dean said as he flicked through the pictures.

"Just wait, the next one," she said. The next one showed a beat up old truck driving away. "This one was taken right after Sam and Nora left the bar." Dean just looked at her. "Look at the back end of that thing," she said. Dean did and it looked just as beat up as the rest of it. "Now look at the plates," she said. He flicked over to the next picture which was a zoomed in picture of the trucks license plates.

"The plates look new, it was probably stolen," Dean said.

"So, whoever's driving that rust-bucket must be involved," she said. Dean nodded. A black van drove past them with an unhealthy sounding engine. Dean frowned at it then remembered what Evan had said.

"D'you hear that engine?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Kind of a whining growl isn't it?"

The deputy listened for a moment then nodded. "Sure."

Dean frowned at the van and then at the picture in his hand. "Well I'll be damned," he muttered.

OoOoOoO

Nora stood in the corner of the cage as Sam gripped the top of it and swung his feet as hard as he could into the cage door. When the door refused to budge, Sam gave up and let himself drop to the ground. The man in the other cage groggily woke up. Sam and Nora looked at him. "You're alive?" Sam asked. The man groaned in reply. "Hey, are you okay?"

The man looked at him. "Does it look like I'm doing okay?" He looked at Nora. "At least they gave you a girl to play with."

"Hey," Nora growled. "I'm not a toy."

"Where are we?" Sam asked, ignoring both comments.

"I don't know," the man said. "The country I think, it smells like the country."

"You're Alvin Jenkins aren't you?" Nora asked

"Yeah," he said.

"Well we were looking for you," she said.

"Yeah?" Nora and Sam nodded. "Well, no offense, but this is a piss poor rescue."

"Well, my brother's out there right now," Sam said. "He's looking for us so..."

"So, he's not going to find us. We're in the middle of nowhere waiting for them to come back and do god knows what to us."

"What are they?" Nora asked. "Have you seen them?"

"What are you talking about?" Jenkins asked.

"Whatever took us, do you know what they look like?" Sam asked.

The barn door opened. "See for yourself," he said and jumped to the door of his cage. The things were hooded and they looked humanoid. They hit Jenkins' cage door with a bat and he leapt back. They opened the door and pushed a plate of food in before closing it again. The hooded figures took a key out of a box attached to a post and left the barn.

"They're just people," Nora whispered. "Just regular, scary people."

"I'll be damned," Sam muttered.

"What did you expect?" Jenkins asked.

They ignored him. "How often do they feed you?" Sam asked.

"Once a day," Jenkins told them. "They use that thing over there to open the cage." He pointed to the box their captors had taken the key out of.

"And that's the only time you see them?" Nora asked.

"So far," Jenkins said.

"Please, dear whoever, let's keep it that way," Nora said to no one in particular.

"What do you think they want?" Jenkins asked.

Sam shrugged. "That depends on who they are," he said. He stood up and pulled on a pipe that hung above their cage.

"They're a bunch of psycho hillbilly rednecks if you ask me," Jenkins said. "Looking for love in all the wrong places." Sam ignored him and continued to pull on the pipe about the cage.

OoOoOoO

"The next traffic cam is fifty miles from here and your pick up didn't pass that one," Kathleen, the deputy, told Dean.

"So it must have pulled off somewhere," Dean said, looking at map. "I don't see any other roads here."

"Well, a lot of these back-woods properties have their own private roads," Kathleen explained. The computer in Kathleen's patrol car beeped and she looked at it. She pushed a few buttons to see what it wanted and then frowned at Dean. "So Gregory," she said. He looked at her. "I ran your badge number, it's routine when we're working a case with state police, for county purposes and what have you." Dean just nodded. "And, uh, it just got back to me. Says here your badge was stolen," she said as she pulled over. "And there's a picture of you." She turned the screen around so Dean could see the picture of a large, black man who he'd stolen the badge off.

Dean stared at it for a while. "I lost some weight," he said. "And I've got that Michael Jackson skin disease..."

Kathleen shook her head at him. "Would you step out of the car please?"

"Look, look, look," Dean said, aware that he was lowering his chances of finding Sam and Nora. "If you want to arrest me that's fine. I'll cooperate, I swear. But first, please, let me find Sam and Nora."

"I don't even know who you are," Kathleen said. "Or if these people are missing."

"Look into my eyes and tell me I'm lying about this."  
"Identity theft? You're impersonating an officer." Kathleen pointed out.

"Here's the thing," Dean said. "When we were young, I pretty much pulled Sam from a fire and ever since then I've felt responsible for him. You know, like it's my job to keep him safe. And Nora... Nor has no one else. Her parents are dead, her best friend is dead, me and Sam are all she has here and I cannot lose her the way I lost Jay..." he trailed off then cleared his throat and began again. "I'm just afraid that if we don't find them fast... please, they're my family."

Kathleen thought for a moment then shook her head. "I'm sorry, you've given me no choice. I have to take you in." She glanced up suddenly at the sun guard where there was a picture of her and someone who looked like her brother. She sighed and put her seatbelt back on. "After we find your friends." Dean looked at her like he could kiss her but he didn't. Instead, he focused on getting Sam and Nora back.

OoOoOoO

"What's your name again?" Jenkins asked Sam who was still pulling on the pipe.

"It's Sam," he said. "And that's Nora."

"Why don't you give it up, Sammy? There's no way out?"

Nora shook her head at Jenkins. "Shouldn't have said that."

"What?"

"Don't. Call. Me. Sammy," Sam said, pulling harder with each word until finally the pipe came free and something fell to the floor of the cage.

"What is it?" Jenkins asked.

Sam picked it up and examined it. "It's a bracket."

"Oh thank god a bracket, now we've got 'em," Jenkins said sarcastically. Suddenly, the door to his cage unlocked and he stared at it as it swung open. "Must've been a short," he said, getting up. "Maybe you knocked something loose." He walked out of the cage and looked around.

"I think you should get back in there, Jenkins," Sam said and Nora nodded. There was definitely something not right about how easy that was.

"Look, I'm gonna get out of here and I'm gonna send help, don't worry," Jenkins said and left the barn before Sam or Nora could argue further.

"That dumbass is gonna get himself killed," Nora said unsympathetically. Sam just nodded. He sat down against a wall of the cage. Thunder roared outside and Nora jumped. "Shit," she whispered. "This placed is really not helping my paranoia."

Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "We'll be fine," he said. "Dean will find us soon and we can leave this place behind." They sat in silence for a while until they heard Jenkins screaming in pain and fear and then was cut short.

"Oh my god," Nora whispered, hiding her face in Sam's shoulder. "We're gonna die."

Sam lifted her face to look at him. "We are not going to die," he said firmly. "I promise." He wiped the tears from her face and kissed her.

OoOoOoO

"Okay, Officer," Dean said, coffee in hand. "I'm gonna press my luck -"

"Your luck is so pressed," Kathleen said.

"Right," Dean said. "I was wondering, why are you helping me out? Why don't you just lock me up?"

"My brother Riley disappeared three years ago, a lot like Sam and Nora," she told him. "We searched for him but.. nothing... I know what it's like to feel responsible for someone and for them to..." she trailed off then forced a smiled onto her face. "Come on," she said. "Let's keep at it."

Later, as they drove down the highway again, Dean told Kathleen to pull over. "It's the first turn off I've seen so far," he said, walking towards the small road.

"You stay here, I'll check it out," Kathleen said.

"No way," Dean said defiantly and continued walking.

"Hey," she said firmly, making him stop. "You're a civilian and a felon, I think, I'm not taking you with me."

"You're not going without me," Dean pressed.

Kathleen looked around for a moment then sighed. "Alright," she said. "You promise you won't get involved? You'll let me handle it?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I promise."

"Shake on it," Kathleen said, extending her hand. Dean shrugged and took her hand, only to find himself with a handcuff around his wrist.

"Oh come on," he said as she put the other cuff around the door handle. "This is ridiculous. Kathleen I really think you're gonna need my help."

"I'll manage," she said, locking the car. "Thank you."

Dean pulled at the door handle but he did not come free. "I gotta start carrying paper clips," he muttered to himself.

At the end of the small road, Kathleen found a small, rundown house. "Hello?" she called cautiously, walking up the porch steps. "Is anybody home?" She knocked on the door then, when no one answered, she looked around. She was about to leave when she heard the door behind her opening. She turned around to see a little girl coming out of the house. "Hi," Kathleen said. "How are you?"

"Who are you?" The little girl asked, looking at Kathleen's deputy badge.

"I'm Kathleen, I'm a deputy," Kathleen told her. "What's your name?"

"Missy."

"Missy, that's a pretty name," Kathleen said. "Missy, is your Mom home?"

"She's dead."

"I'm sorry. What about your Dad?" Missy just shook her head. "No? Can I come in for a minute?" Missy shook her head again. "Okay, I just want you to look at a picture." She handed Missy a picture of Sam. Dean hadn't had any pictures of Nora to give her but since they were probably together it wouldn't have mattered. "Have you seen that guy? He was probably with a young blonde woman?" Missy looked past Kathleen and grinned. "What?" Kathleen asked.

"That's gonna hurt," Missy said. Kathleen turned around and her face met with a shovel. She fell, unconscious, to the ground.

"Missy, sweetheart," The man with the shovel said. "Go tell your brothers I wanna see 'em."

"Yes, Daddy," Missy said then ran off.

Dean was busy looking for a way out of the handcuffs. He looked around and saw the aerial on the back of the patrol car. As he reached for it, he heard the whining growl of an engine coming from the woods around the road and reached harder. Just as he got it loose of the car, he dropped it on the ground. "Son of a bitch!" he hissed and bent down to pick it up. When he got it, he quickly picked the lock on the handcuffs and ran away from the sound of approaching footsteps, unaware of a pair of eyes watching him.

OoOoOoO

Kathleen woke up in a cage with a killer headache. "Are you alright?" Nora asked.

Kathleen looked over to Sam and Nora. "Are you Nora O'Reilly and Sam Winchester?" she asked, rubbing her head.

"Yeah," Sam said, coming over to the wall of the cage to look at Kathleen.

"Your cousin is looking for you," Kathleen said.

Nora sighed with relief. "Thank god," she whispered and relaxed against the back of the cage.

"Where is he?" Sam asked.

Kathleen frowned. "I, uh, I cuffed him to my car," she said. The barn door opened and someone came in. Sam, Nora and Kathleen shrank to the backs of their cages as they waited for whoever it was to appear. To their relief, it was Dean.

"I have never been happier to see anyone in my whole life," Nora said moving over to the front of the cage.

"Sam? Nora?" Dean said, moving over to their cage. "Are you guys hurt?"

Sam shook his head. "We're fine."

"How did you get out of the cuffs?" Kathleen asked.

"I know a trick or two," Dean said. He moved over to the lock on the cage and frowned. "Ooh, these locks look like they're gonna be a bitch."

"Well, there's some kind of automatic control," Sam said, pointing past Dean. "Right there."

"Have you seen them?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, dude, they're just people," Sam said.

"And they jumped you?" Dean asked. "You must be getting a little rusty there, kiddo. What do they want?"

"I dunno," Sam admitted. "They let Jenkins go but that was some sort of trap."

"We could here him screaming," Nora said. "It was horrible."

"It just doesn't make sense," Sam said.

"Well that's the point," Dean said. "With our usual playmates, there's rules, there's patterns but with people... they're just crazy." During this whole conversation, Kathleen was giving them all strange looks.

"Is there anything else out there?" Nora asked.

"Uh, yeah there's about a dozen junked cars hidden out back. Plates from all over," he said. "So I'm thinking when they take someone, they take there car too."

"Did you see a black mustang out there?" Kathleen asked. "About ten years old?"

Dean looked at her. "Yeah actually I did," he said. Kathleen looked down at her feet. "Your brother's?" Kathleen nodded. "I'm sorry. Let's get you guys out of here and then we'll take care of those bastards." He looked back at the control box then to Sam and Nora. "This thing takes a key. Key?" they shook there heads. "Alright, I better go find it."

"Hey," Sam called. "Be careful."

OoOoOoO

Dean found his way into the basement but couldn't see a thing. He found a torch and started looking around. At first it seemed like a relatively ordinary basement but then Dean found a shelf full of jars containing questionable contents. Around the other side of the shelf was netting, attached to which were pictures of, who he assumed were Sam and Nora's captors, cutting up dead bodies like they were prizes. "Well, I'll say it again," he said to himself. "Demons I get, people are just crazy." He made his way up the stairs towards the house. Once there, he heard piano music that belonged in a silent movie and tools being picked up and dropped with the occasional chop. He was too busy keeping his eye on the man in the kitchen with the tools to watch where he was going and he ran into what sounded like a wind chime. Freezing, he held the chime still until the noise stopped and made sure the man in the kitchen hadn't heard. When he looked at the chime, it appeared to be made out of human shoulders. "What the..." he muttered then continued on. He slipped past the kitchen and moved into what appeared to be the living room. The living room connected with the kitchen so Dean looked around for a weapon of some sort with which to knock out the man in the kitchen. He found a large peace of wood with a nail sticking out of the end and picked it up. He moved over to the kitchen and was about to go in when he noticed a set of keys sitting on a cabinet beside him. He went to pick them up but was stopped by a creaking across the hall. He spun around to see a little girl looking at him, frightened. He put his weapon down and moved closer to her. "Shh," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She pulled out a knife. "I know," she said and threw it at him. It pinned his jacket to the wall and he couldn't pull it away. "Daddy!" The little girl screamed. Dean finally managed to pull the knife out of the wall and his jacket. "Daddy!" The girl's brothers appeared and ran towards Dean. One of them grabbed him from behind while the other one went at his face. Dean pulled his legs off the ground, using the guy behind him for support, and kicked the guy coming towards him to the ground. He was rewarded by having his head rammed into the wall by the guy behind him and was then thrown over a couch and dropped the knife. He stood up and punched the guy in the face a couple of times until he was tackled, Dean stood his ground and lifted the guy off the ground and tossed him over his shoulder and into the couch he'd just got up from. He moved backwards into a corner and the two brothers closed in on him. Dean kicked a chair at one guy who dodged it and he punched the other one in the face. The one who'd dodged the chair tackled him into the wall. Dean fell down then stood up, blood trickling down his face. He stood facing both of the brothers. "I'm gonna kick your ass first," he said, pointing to one of them. "And then I'm gonna kick yours." He pointed to the other. But before he could kick either of their asses, the man from the kitchen knocked him over the head and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

OoOoOoO

Dean came too, tied to a chair with the family of psychos sitting in front of him.

"Come on, let's hunt him," one of the brothers said.

"Yeah, this one's a fighter," the other one said. "Sure would be fun to hunt." The father looked at his sons then turned back to Dean, laughing.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," he said. "That's what this is about? You Yahoos hunt people?"

"You ever killed before?" The father asked.

Dean thought for a moment. "Well that depends on what you mean."

"I've hunted all my life," the father continued. "Just like my father, his before him and so on. I've hunted deer and bear. I even got a cougar once. But the best hunt is human." Dean just looked at him, blinking the blood out of his eye. "Oh, there's nothing like it. Holding their life in your hands, seeing the fear in their eyes just before they go dark. Makes you feel powerful alive."

"You're a sick puppy," Dean said.

The man glared at him and stood up. "We give 'em a weapon, give 'em a fighting chance. It's kind of like, our tradition passed down from father to son. 'Course only one or two a year, never enough to bring the law down. We've never been that sloppy."

"Yeah, well, don't sell yourself short, you're plenty sloppy," Dean said.

The man bent down, his face close to Deans. "So, what, you with that pretty cop?" He asked. Dean didn't say anything. "Are you a cop?"

"If I tell you, do you promise not to make me into an ashtray?" Dean asked and was given a punch in the face.

"The only reason I don't let my boys take you right here and now is 'cause there's something I need to know," the father said.

"Yeah, how about it's not nice to marry your sister?" Dean said. The father moved back into view and he was carrying a hot metal poker.

"Tell me," he said. "Any other cops gonna come looking for you?"

"Eat me," Dean spat. "No, no, wait, you actually might." One of the sons grabbed Dean's head and held it still while the father held the poker close to Dean's eye.

"You think this is funny?" the father asked. "You brought this down on my family. Alright, you wanna play games? We'll play some games." He took the poker away from Dean's eye. "Looks like we're gonna have a hunt tonight after all boys," he said to his sons. He turned back to Dean. "And you get to pick the animal. The boy, the girl, or the pretty cop?"

"Okay, wait, wait, wait," Dean said. "Nobody's coming for me, okay? It's just us."  
"If you don't choose, I will," the father said, pushing the hot poker into Dean's shoulder.

"Arghh you son of a bitch!" Dean screamed.

The father put the poker back in front of Dean's eye. "Next time I'll take an eye," he said.

"Alright, alright, the guy," Dean said. Aware that Sam had the best chances of defending himself than Nora or Kathleen. "Take the guy!"

The father grinned. He took a key from around his neck and handed it to one of his sons. "Lee, go do it," he said. Lee took the key from his father who stopped him. "Don't let him out though. Shoot him in the cage."

"What?" Dean asked. "I thought you said you were gonna hunt him. You were gonna give him a chance!"

"Lee!" The father called. "When you're done with the boy, shoot the bitches too." Lee nodded, grabbed an impressive looking rifle and went out to the barn. "We gotta clean this mess up before any more cops come."

OoOoOoO

The barn door opened and Sam moved to the front of the cage to see who it was. When he realised it wasn't Dean, he made Nora get as far back as she could and stood in front of her. The door to Sam and Nora's cage opened and Sam panicked, he had no idea what to do. He looked down at the ground and saw the bracket he'd knocked loose. He picked it up and threw it at Lee just as he pulled the trigger.

"If you hurt my brother, I'll kill you, I swear," Dean said. "I'll kill you all." The father just walked away. "I will kill you all!"

The father looked out towards the barn. "Lee!" he called.

Lee was on the floor of the barn, Sam on top of him trying to get the gun. He punched Lee several times until his grip loosened on the gun then he knocked Lee out with the but of the gun. Sam stood up and tried to cock the gun but it was jammed. "Dammit," he said and chucked it on the ground. Nora scrambled out of the cage and stretched.

"Lee!" The father called again but still got no reply. "Jared you come with me," he said to his other son. "Missy, you watch him now." Missy turned to face Dean, pulled out yet another knife and held it to Dean's eye as her father and brother ran out to the barn to see what was keeping Lee.

"Lee! Where are ya?" the father called, his gun at the ready. He made his way over to the cages and realised Lee was in the cage that Sam was supposed to be in. "Dammit, Jared, get the lights." Jared hurried to do as he was told but the lights didn't turn on.

"They must've blown the fuses," he said. The door to the other part of the barn was open and they hurried through it in search of Sam and the others. Sam was watching from the loft and Nora and Kathleen had separated into different corners of the barn. The father nodded in Nora's general direction and Jared went to investigate while the father climbed up into the lofts to see what he could find. Nora opened a cupboard that she planned to hide in but realised it made too much sound and moved quickly as Jared headed towards where she'd just been. He shot into the cupboard mercilessly but when nothing made a sound, he opened the cupboard and discovered no one in there. Nora appeared behind him and kicked his back, pushing him headfirst into the cupboard. Angry, Jared spun around, swinging his arm and hitting Nora in the face, causing her to fall over.

"Hey!" a voice called. He turned around to see someone he'd never seen before standing off to his right and glaring at him.

Nora looked up and frowned. "Jay?"

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Janaya said to Jared. Jared grinned at her and lifted the gun up. Shaking her head, Janaya kicked the gun out of Jared's hands then, stepping forward, she landed a roundhouse kick into his head and knocked him out cold. Satisfied, Janaya went over to Nora and helped her stand. "You okay?" she asked. Nora stared at her, speechless. Janaya nodded. "Right, we'll talk later," she said. "Help me drag this guy into one of the cages will ya?" Nora just nodded and did as she was told.

In the hay loft, Sam was being shot at. He jumped down from the loft and ran back into the cage room where he froze. "Jay?" Janaya waved at him then picked up Jared's gun before they locked him in the cage. Kathleen ran into the room and Janaya pointed the gun at her. Kathleen froze.

"Who's that?" she asked. Janaya lowered the gun slightly then fired. Kathleen gasped then realise the bullet hadn't hit her, she turned around and saw the father writhing on the ground with a bullet wound in his knee. "Nice shot."

"Thanks," Janaya said, dropping the gun onto the floor and dusting off her hands. Kathleen picked up the gun and pointed it at the father.

"I'll watch this one," she said. "You guys go ahead." Janaya frowned at her then nodded and led the way out of the barn.

Sam went inside the house to find Dean while Janaya and Nora stayed outside. Nora stared at Janaya for a moment then slapped her across the face. "Hey!" Janaya said, rubbing her cheek.

"I though you were dead!" Nora said. "Do you have any idea how horrible that was?"

Janaya sighed. "I'm sorry okay? I promise I'll explain later but I don't want to have to repeat myself so I'll wait till everyone's here."

"But -"

"Nor, please, it's a very long and complicated story."

Nora glowered. "Fine."

After knocking out the little girl, Sam hurried to un-tie Dean. "Dude, you need to get your ass outside right now," he said as soon as Dean was free.

"Why?"

"Just trust me."

Dean ran outside and froze when he saw Janaya. "Oh my god," he whispered. Janaya looked up and saw him and smiled.

"Hey," she said. Dean just stared at her then ran over to her and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"I thought you were dead," he said, trying to hold back tears.

Janaya relaxed against him. "I know, and I'll explain everything when -"

"Where's the girl?" Kathleen asked, running over to them from the barn.

"Locked in a closet," Sam said. "And the dad?"

"Shot trying to escape," she said. She looked at Janaya. "I want to thank you, you may have saved my life back there. Just... who are you?"

Janaya smiled. "That's a long story," she said. "But I'm with these guys."

OoOoOoO

"State police and FBI are gonna be here within the hour," Kathleen told them once she had radioed for back up. "They're gonna want to talk to you. I suggest that you're both long gone by then."

"Thanks," Dean said. "And uh, I'm sorry about your brother."

"Thank you," Kathleen said. "It was really hard not knowing what happened to him. I thought it would be easier once I knew the truth but... it isn't really." She stopped and blinked back tears. "Anyway, you should go." Dean looked at her for a moment then led the others down the road. Once they were out of ear shot of Kathleen, Nora turned to Janaya.

"So, you gonna explain what the hell you're doing saving my life when you're supposed to be dead?" she asked.

Janaya sighed. "You wanna know what happened?" Everyone nodded. "Fine, I really was hit by a car when I was out walking, I didn't, however, die and it wasn't my mom who told you I was dead."

"Whoa, I just noticed, your accent's gone," Dean said.

Janaya laughed. "Nope, just got a new one. Anyway, I was picked up by some friends I had in the area. I was unconscious for a lot of the time and the rest of the time I was in no condition to travel. By the time I was able to leave, Ranec told me that he'd you told I was dead. So I kicked his ass and found you guys." Everyone stared at her. "And that's what happened."

Dean frowned at her. "Who's Ranec?" he asked.

"One of the friends I was staying with," Janaya said dismissively.

He nodded. "And the baby?"

Janaya stopped and looked down. "Getting hit by the car caused a miscarriage," she said.

"I'm sorry, Jay," Nora said. "If I'd known... hey, if it wasn't Palari that told us you were dead, who was it?"

Janaya shrugged. "Just one of my friends who has the weird ability of being able to make her voice sound like anyone else's. Believe me, if I could have I would have called you but my cellphone was completely busted up and I'm afraid I don't know anyone's number off by heart."

Dean slid his hand into hers and grinned. "It's just good to have you back."

She smiled weakly at him then frowned at Nora and Sam who were moving ahead of them, also hand in hand. "There's something different about you two," she said. "Did you have sex?"

Nora just looked at her in shock then pulled Sam further up ahead. Dean laughed. "How could you tell."

Janaya shrugged. "Who knows." Dean moved his hand from hers to around her waist and Janaya stopped again. "Dean, stop," she said.

"You're not still mad are you?" he asked, moving away from her.

She shook her head. "So you made a mistake, I don't care," she said. "I do, however, think we need to take a break." She shook her head at herself, not able to believe the words that were coming out of her mouth.

"A break?"

"I was hit by a car and I lost my baby," Janaya said. "I'm a little emotionally exhausted right now. I just need a little time to get back together." Dean looked down at the ground. "Dean, I'm sorry, I know what you must have been through but..."

"No, it's okay," Dean said, looking back up at her. "If you need space, I can give you that."

"Really?" Dean nodded. Janaya smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I knew there was a reason I loved you." The continued on after Sam and Nora, no longer touching but still close. Janaya looked out ahead of her. It felt good being back with the people she loved and she wouldn't trade it for the world.

OoOoOoO

**So... did you like it? No? Oh well, you should review anyway just so I don't go insane :)**


	12. Shadow

**Well, here it is. Sorry it took so long, I got distracted. I also apologise if the ending is too cheesy. it just sort of came out.**

OoOoOoO

She was young and confident as she walked down the sidewalk towards her store, above which was her flat, the music from her ipod blaring. She turned into the alley which was her usual shortcut and the music fizzled out. She heard someone call her name as the wind picked up but she couldn't see anyone so she shrugged it off as her imagination and continued towards home. She glanced behind her and saw a shadow moving oddly behind and began running towards her store. She fumbled with her keys in her hurry to get inside but finally managed to get the door open and lock it behind her. In her flat, she did the same thing, breathing heavily with fear. She re-armed her security system then relaxed, sure she was safe now. She went into the kitchen to grab a beer then checked her phone messages. As she listened to the abundant messages, she didn't notice the shadow creeping up behind her. She smiled at a particular message the gasped in pain as the shadow ripped her to pieces.

OoOoOoO

_One Week Later_

Dean parked the car across the street from the woman's store and got out of the car. "Alright, Dean, this is the place," Sam said.

"You know, Dad and me did just fine without these stupid costumes," Dean said. "I feel like a high school drama dork."

"You look fine," Janaya told him, leaning out of the back car window. "Just get on with it will ya? I want to get some sight seeing in after we deal with this."

Dean nodded. "Yes ma'am," he said then followed Sam towards the woman's flat.

Nora shook her head at Janaya who frowned. "What's your problem?"

"I still can't believe you told Dean you needed 'a break'," she said.

Janaya sighed. "Those weren't the words I wanted to use they just sort of came out," she explained. "I'm sorry, okay? I don't see why you care so much any way."

"Because I was the one who was there when he found out you were 'dead'," Nora said. "He kept trying to be all macho about it but when he thought he was alone, he cried, okay? A lot. It was depressing seeing him like that. And then you come back and tell him he can't be with you? Why?"

"Because..." she hesitated. "It's complicated, alright? I changed a lot while I was away and I'm still coming to terms with that myself."

Nora looked at her for a long time. "Whatever," she said.

OoOoOoO

"Thanks for letting us look around," Sam said to the landlady as she unlocked the dead woman's flat.

"Well, police said they were done with the place so," the landlady shrugged. Dean closed the door behind him and noticed that the chain was cut in half. Further into the flat, they noticed a lot of blood on the floor. "You guys are with the alarm company?" the landlady asked.

"That's right," Dean said.

"Well, no offense, but your alarms about as useful as boobs on a man," she said.

"Well that's why we're here," he said. "See what went wrong and stop it from happening again."

"Now, ma'am, you found the body?" Sam asked. The landlady nodded. "After it happened?"

She shook her head. "No, a few days later. Meredith's work called, she hadn't shown up," she explained. "I knocked on the door. That's when I noticed the smell."

"Any windows open? Any sign of a break in?" Dean asked.

"Nope, windows were locked, front door was bolted. The chain was on the door we had to cut it to get in."

"And the alarm was still on?"

"Like I said, bang up job your company's doing," she said sarcastically.

"Did you see any upturned furniture? Broken glass? Sign of a struggle?" Dean asked.

She shook her head. "Everything was in perfect condition... except Meredith."

Sam turned to her. "And what kind of condition was Meredith in?"

"She was all over, in pieces," she explained. "The guy who killed her must have been some kind of whack job. But I gotta tell you, if I didn't know any better, I'd say a wild animal did it."

"Ma'am do you mind if we take some time? Give this place the once over?" Sam asked.

"Go ahead, knock yourselves out," she said before leaving.

"So," Dean said, pulling out his EMF reader, "the killer walks in and out of the apartment, no weapon, no prints, nothing."

"I knew this was our kind of thing as soon as I read that article," Sam said.

"I'm inclined to agree with you," Dean said, watching the EMF reader go nuts.

"You say you talked to the police?" Sam asked.

"Uh, yeah,"

"And?"

"Uh, nothing we don't already know," he said. "Except for one thing that they're keeping out of the papers." Sam looked at him questioningly. "Meredith's heart was missing."

"Her heart?"

"Yeah."

"So what do you think did it?"

"Hold on," Dean said, pulling out his cellphone. He called Janaya who answered her phone with a surprised tone.

"Dean?"

"Yeah, you and Nor both there?" he asked.

"Yup," she said, putting her phone on speaker.

"Great, we need some help." He explained to them what had happened and waited for their reply.

"Well, what do you think did it?" she asked.

He sighed. "Um, well, the landlady said it might be a wild animal, maybe it was. You know, a werewolf?"

Janaya was silent for a moment. "No, can't be, a werewolf would have left some kind of trace behind," she said.

"Plus, the lunar cycles not right," Nora said.

"It's probably a spirit," Sam said.

"I'm with Sam on that one," Janaya said, and Nora agreed.

"Yeah," Dean said, looking at the blood spatter on the ground. "We'll get back to you," he said and hung up. "Do we have any masking tape?" Sam nodded and retrieved some from the box they had brought in with them. Dean got down on all fours and began joining the dots with the masking tape. When he was done, he stood up and examined the symbol that now lay before him.

"Ever seen that symbol before?" Sam asked.

"Never," Dean said.

"Hmmm, I'll get a picture of it and the girls can check it out," Sam said, pulling out his phone and turning the camera on.

OoOoOoO

Dean was getting drinks while Sam, Nora and Janaya flicked through John's journal, looking for the symbol.

"Find anything?" Dean asked when he had returned.

Sam shook his head. "Nothing in the usual books and Dad had never seen anything like it before. I'll just have to dig a little deeper."

"Okay," Dean said. "But there was a first victim right? Before Meredith?"

"Yeah," Sam handed him a newspaper article. "His name was Ben Swardstrom. Last month he was found mutilated in his town house."

"Yeah, same thing as with Meredith too," Nora said. "Door was locked, the alarm was on..."

"Is there any connection between the two?" Dean asked.

"Not that we can find," Janaya said. "Ben was a banker, Meredith was a waitress, they never met, never knew anyone in common... they were practically from different worlds."

"So," Dean said thoughtfully. "So far we have nada."

"We're trying, Dean," Janaya said. "We just... Sam?" Sam had gotten up from the table and was making his way over to one of the other tables.

He tapped the person sitting there on the shoulder and when she turned around he looked at her, surprised. "Meg?"

"Sam!" Meg said, smiling at him. "Is that you? Oh my god!" She stood up and hugged him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just in town visiting friends," he said.

"Where are they?' she said, looking around.

"Well they're not here right now, but what about you, Meg, I thought you were going to California." By this point, Dean and the girls had appeared behind him.

"Oh, I did. I came, I saw, I conquered," she said. "Oh and I met what's his name, uh, something Michael Murray at a bar."

"Who?" Sam asked.

"Oh it doesn't matter," she said. "Anyway, that whole scene got old so I'm living here for a while."

"You're from Chicago?" Sam asked, ignoring Dean's coughing.

"No, Massachusetts. Andover," She said. "Gosh, Sam, what are the odds we'd run into each other?"

"Yeah I know, I thought I'd never see you again," he said.

"Well, I'm glad you were wrong," she said, smiling.

"Okay," Nora said, breaking into the conversation. "I can see this is a nice little reunion for you two but for the rest of us, could somebody explain who the hell this is?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Meg said. "I'm Meg Masters, I met Sam a while back when we were both heading to California. And you must be Nora." She held out her hand for her to shake.

Cautiously, Nora accepted it. "How did you know?"

"Sam told me all about you," she explained.

Sam nodded. "Yup, and this is my brother Dean and his not-quite girlfriend, Janaya."

"Thanks, Sam," Janaya said. "Really put it into perspective for us."

"Sorry."

"Wow," Meg said, staring at Janaya. "When Sam told me about you, I thought you seemed a lot like my little sister, but you actually look like her too."

"What an odd coincidence," Janaya said, looking at Meg closely. "Well, I think we'll all let you two catch up." She dragged Nora and Dean over to the bar and left Sam and Meg alone.

"Wow, she doesn't seem to like me very much," Meg said, watching Janaya leave.

"Yeah, that's weird," Sam said. "She's usually a lot nicer to people she doesn't know although she's been through a lot."

"Yeah, hey why don't we hook up while you're in town?"

"Just, uh, give me your number," he said, pulling out his phone.

"Uh, 312 555 0143," she said and he entered the numbers into his phone. "Now, you'd better call."

"Scouts honour," he said.

"I hope to see you around, Sam," she said. He smiled at her then returned to the others.

OoOoOoO

"Who the hell was that?" Dean asked.

"I'm not really sure," Sam said. "I only met her once. And meeting up with her again? It's just weird." He turned to Janaya. "Is there a reason you were particularly rude to her?"

"I wasn't rude I was cold," she said. "There's a difference. And yes there is, I don't trust her."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, there's just something about her that doesn't sit right with me," she said. "She just seems so... fake."

"Yeah. I don't trust her either," Sam said.

"Well, why don't you trust her?" Nora asked.

"I met her weeks ago, literally on the side of the road and now I run into her in some random Chicago bar?" Sam asked. "The same bar where a waitress was slaughtered by something supernatural?"

"Definitely is a little strange," Nora said.

"It could just be a random coincidence," Dean pointed out. "It does happen."

"Name one random coincidence that has ever happened to you," Janaya said. Dean thought for a minute then gave up.

"Alright, so not a coincidence then what?"

Sam shook his head. "I dunno. Just do me a favour, see if there really is a Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts and see if you can dig something up on that symbol on Meredith's floor."

"What are you gonna do?"

"We're gonna watch Meg," Sam said, indicating himself and Nora.

"Alright," Janaya said. "Let's go, research boy, I think I know where we might be able to find something on that symbol."

OoOoOoO

"Ha! Found it!" Janaya said, pointing triumphantly at a page in what appeared to be a journal while sitting on the floor of their hotel room.

"You did?" Dean asked, turning away from the computer to her. "How?"

Janaya hesitated. "It's in my Dad's journal," she said.

"_Your_ dad's journal?"

"Yeah," Janaya said. "And why I have it is a story I don't want to get into right now. Do you want to know what it says or not?"

"Yeah, hang on, might as well tell everyone at once," he said, picking up his phone and calling Sam.

"Hey," Sam said when he answered his phone and putting it on speaker so that Nora could hear too.

"Let me guess, you're lurking outside that poor girls apartment aren't you?" Dean asked.

"No," Sam said, although that is exactly what he was doing.

"Oh well, at least Nora's there to keep you in line," Dean said and heard Nora laugh in response.

"Did you find anything on her?"

"Sorry, man, she checks out," Dean said. "There's A Meg Masters in the Andover phone book. I even pulled up her High School photo."

Sam sighed. "Alright, and the symbol?"

"That would be Jay's turn," he said, handing the phone to her.

"Right," Janaya said. "Your symbol thing? It's Zoroastrian."

"It's what now?" Nora asked.

"It's a really old religion, like, thousands of years before Christ was even thought of," Janaya explained. "Anyway, it's a sigil for a Daeva."

"What the hell is a Daeva?" Sam asked.

Janaya squinted at her fathers flourishy hand writing. "It's a demon of darkness," she said. "It's a Zoroastrian demon and they are nasty. Animalistic, even. They're like demonic pit bulls."

"How did you figure that out?" Nora asked.

"It's in a book I found," Janaya said. She looked at Dean to make sure he wouldn't say what book and he mimed zipping his lips.

"How come you found it and we didn't?" Nora asked.

"Because I looked in a different place," Janaya snapped. "Anyway, Daevas have to be summoned or conjured."

"So someone's controlling it?" Dean asked from his place beside her.

"Exactly," Janaya said. "And it's worse than binding a reaper. The Daeva doesn't have to get free to want to kill whoever conjured them."

"What do they look like?" Sam asked.

"Well, no one really knows," she said. "No one's seen one for thousands of years. It's old and powerful so whoever's controlling it is one powerful bitch. I mean as powerful as my mother, powerful."

"It's not your mother is it?" Dean asked.

"Not likely, I don't see why she'd waste time summoning ancient demons and killing people," Janaya said. "It's not really her style. Besides, we have to take into account the fact that she's not evil."

"Right," Dean said.

"Thanks," Sam said and hung up.

Janaya lay back and spread herself out on the ground, yawning. "Why didn't you tell Nora about your Dad's journal?" Dean asked.

Janaya lifted her head slightly to look at him. "Promise you won't tell?" He nodded. "My Dad is dead. My Mom came and told me while I was with Ranec and the others and gave me his journal."

Dean's eyes widened. "And you didn't mention that earlier because...?"

"I didn't really want to talk about it," she said. "I still don't."

"Oh sorry," Dean said, laying down beside her. "How?"

Janaya sighed. "Your demon," she said. "The one that killed your Mom, Jessica and attacked my Mom killed my Dad, my brother and my sister."

"Your whole family?"

"Yes," Janaya said, ignoring the tears that were falling from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Dean said. "I can see why you wanted space."

Janaya moved until her head was resting on his chest. "I'm so sorry, Dean, I wish it didn't have to be this way but-"

"Hey, just relax," he said. "I'm not going anywhere, I'm prepared to wait for as long as I need to. Can I just ask one thing?" Janaya nodded. "Why don't you want to tell Nora about your family? I mean, isn't it her family too?"

Janaya sniffed. "Yeah, but... She will have lost a second family. I can't do that to her. Not yet anyway."

"I guess that's fair enough," Dean said. "Promise me one thing though, alright?"

"What?"

"Don't beat yourself up about it, there's nothing you could have done."

Janaya sat up and shrugged. She wiped her tears from her face and stood up. "I'm sorry, you didn't need to hear that."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for, dummy," Dean said.

"No, it's not. I'm gonna take a shower," she said and left the room.

Dean sighed. Just when he thought he was getting through the wall that had appeared when she came back, she threw up another one and was gone again.

OoOoOoO

Sam and Nora saw Meg about to open the door to her apartment building and quickly ducked so that she couldn't see them. "Wait here," Sam told Nora and got out of the car to follow her.

"_Wait here_," Nora mimicked. "Why do I always have to stay behind?" she asked herself then shrugged and leant back in her chair to take a nap.

Sam followed Meg to an abandoned warehouse and snuck in after her. He followed the stairs to a locked door and frowned. He went to look for another way up and found a broken elevator. Giving his decision a brief thought, he began climbing up the elevator shaft towards Meg. At the top, he gripped onto the locked gate so that he could see, and saw what appeared to be an altar. Meg walked past his hiding place and he ducked before looking back up to see what she was doing. She went to the altar and picked up a goblet. Sam couldn't see what was inside it but she stirred it with her finger and started chanting in what sounded like Latin.

"I don't think you should come," she said to the cup. She paused for a moment. "Because the brothers, they're in town. I didn't know that - " She was interrupted but by what, Sam couldn't hear. "Yes, she's with them," she said then paused again. "Yes, sir. Yes. I'll be here, waiting for you." She put the goblet down then blew out the candles that were on the altar. She left the room and Sam climbed in. He went over to examine the altar and saw that the goblet was filled with blood. The Zoroastrian symbol was all over the table in various forms the main one being in the center, drawn in blood.

"What the hell?" Sam asked then got out of there as quickly as possible.

OoOoOoO

Sam burst into the hotel room, Nora close behind. Sam found Dean and in unison, both brothers said. "Dude, I gotta talk to you."

Everyone gathered in the main part of the hotel room and Sam told them what he had found out.

"I knew that bitch wasn't trustworthy," Janaya said. "But how come Nora and I didn't feel her power?"

Nora shrugged. "Maybe she was masking it? With a glamour or something?"

"Maybe," Janaya said.

"But what's the deal with that bowl again?" Dean asked.

"She was talking into it," Sam explained. "The way witches used to scry into crystal balls or animal entrails. She was communicating with something."

"With who, the Daeva?" Dean asked.

"She wouldn't need to scry to talk to the Daeva," Janaya said. "Besides, Daeva's are savages, they wouldn't know how."

"Yeah, this was something different," Sam said. "Someone who's giving her orders. Someone who's going to that warehouse."

Dean looked at them then sat down at the table and searched through the papers there. "Holy crap," he said.

"What?" Sam asked.

"What I was going to tell you earlier," Dean said. "I pulled a favour with Amy from the police station and I got the complete records of both victims. We missed something the first time."

"What?" Sam asked moving closer. This was news to both girls as well and they moved in for a closer look too.

"The first victim, the old man? Spent his whole life in Chicago but he wasn't born here," Dean said. He pointed to a place on the page. "Look where he was born."

Sam read the place of birth and widened his eyes. "Lawrence, Kansas," he said.

"Yeah," Dean said. He picked up the other file and opened it. "And Meredith, the second victim, turns out she was adopted. And guess where she's from."

Again, the place of birth said 'Lawrence, Kansas.' Sam sat down and rubbed his temples. "Holy crap," he said.

"Yeah," Dean agreed.

"It is where the demon killed Mom," Sam said. "It's where everything started. So you think Meg's tied up with the demon?"

"I think it's a definite possibility," Dean said.

"That would explain why we couldn't sense her power," Janaya said. "If something powerful told the Daeva to obey Meg, she wouldn't have to be hugely powerful to do it, as long as she made sure her boss was keeping them in check every now and again."

"But what's the significance of Lawrence?" Sam asked. "And how do the Daeva fit in?"

"Beats me," Dean said. "But I say we trash that altar, grab Meg and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation."

"No, we can't," Sam said. "We can't tip her off. We gotta stake out that warehouse and see who, or what, is coming to meet her."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing," Dean said. "I don't think we should do this alone."

"What are you talking about?" Janaya asked. "Hello, what are we? Damsels in distress?"

Dean shook her head. "You guys can't come."

"Why not?" Janaya and Nora asked angrily at the same time.  
"Didn't you listen to Sam? Whoever's coming is looking for one of you as well," he said. "We can't risk you being killed or taken by whatever it is so you stay here."

"What if it's the demon?" Janaya asked. "I want to kill that bastard as much as you do, if not more."

"I know," Dean said. "But what can you do if it is? We don't even know how to kill it so just stay here," he said again. "We're going to call Dad."

"You think he'll answer?" Janaya asked folding her arms across her chest and leaning back.

"No, I don't but I'll leave a message and if he gets it then maybe he'll come."

OoOoOoO

"We think we've got a serious lead on the thing that killed Mom," Dean said into his phone. "This warehouse, it's fourteen-thirty-five West Erie. Dad, if you get this, get to Chicago as soon as you can." He hung up the phone and turned around to see Sam dump a bag on the bed behind him. "Jesus, what did you get?"

"I ransacked that trunk," Sam said. "Holy water, every weapon that I could think of, exorcism rituals from about half a dozen religions. I'm not sure what to expect so I guess we should expect everything, huh."

Dean nodded and picked up the double barreled shotgun out of the bag and loaded it. "Big night," he said.

"Yeah," Sam said. "You nervous?"

"No," Dean said. "Why, are you?"

"No, no way."

Janaya and Nora entered the room carrying plates of food. "If you boys are gonna treat us like worried housewives then we're going to act like worried housewives. Now, eat your dinner," Janaya said.

Dean picked up his plate and stared at it. "Steak? When did you get steak?"

"A while ago," she said. "I was going to eat it myself but you guys can have it since I'm pretty sure you can't remember ever eating steak." Dean nodded and started eating as fast as he could and Janaya and Nora left the boys to get ready.

"God, could you actually imagine if we found that damn thing? That demon?" Sam asked.

Dean laughed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," he said. "Remember what I told Jay, we don't even know how to kill it."

"Yeah, but say we did find it and we could kill it," Sam said. "What if it could all be over tonight?"

"Janaya would kill me," Dean said. "She was probably right when she said she wanted to kill that bastard more than we did."

"Why? Her Mom is fine," Sam said. "I mean sure, it was so much more recently than our Mom but..."

"Look, I'm not allowed to say, but seriously, she wants this thing gone and she wants to be the one to do it," Dean said. "If the demon was there tonight and we could kill it, I'd do it, but Jay would be pissed."

"I'm gonna have to remember to ask her why," Sam said, shaking his head. "Anyway, you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Dean said, picking up the bag and heading towards the door.

"Hey," Janaya said. "Be careful okay?" Dean nodded and headed out the door. Janaya sat down on the nearest chair and sighed. She rested her hands on the table and found her father's journal. She looked at it for a moment then sighed. "Nora?" she called and within moments Nora had appeared with a questioning look on her face. "There's something I need to tell you."

OoOoOoO

Sam and Dean found Meg as she was chanting in Latin over her black altar. They climbed into the room, guns at the ready and found hiding places at the back of the room.

"Guys," Meg said, breaking her chant. "Hiding's a little bit childish, don't you think?"

"Well that didn't work out like I'd planned," Dean said.

Meg turned around to face them, a malicious grin on her face. "Why don't you come out?" Slowly, the boys did as they were told, not taking their eye off Meg for a second. "Sam," Meg said. "I have to say this puts a real crimp in our relationship."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sam said.

"So," Dean said, drawing Meg's attention to him. "Where's your little Daeva friend?"

"Around," she said. "And that shotgun's not going to do much good."

"Oh don't worry, sweetheart, the shotgun's not for the demon."

"So who is it?" Sam asked. "Who's coming Meg? Who are you waiting for?"

Meg looked at him and cocked her head to the side. "You," she said and a shadow on the wall took a life of it's own, attacking Sam's and Dean's shadows, transferring the wounds to Sam and Dean themselves.

OoOoOoO

Nora stared at the journal in her hands. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked.

"I didn't want to upset you," Janaya said, looking down at the ground.

"Upset me?" Nora asked. "You hid the fact that our family is dead because you didn't want to upset me?"

Janaya stared at the ground. "Yes."

"That's insane," Nora said. "If you'd just told me as soon as you got back, I would have been fine but... was there a funeral that I missed?"

Janaya nodded. "We both missed it, Nor, they died the same time Mom was attacked, and I found out months later," she said.

"Oh well that makes it okay then," Nora said sarcastically.

"Look, I'm sorry, but it was kind of hard to bring up," she said. "What did you want me to say? 'Hi I'm back from the dead oh and by the way almost everyone we loved is dead'?"

"Okay, but what about after that?" Nora said. "You've been back for weeks."

"Yeah, but I kept putting it off," Janaya admitted. "There was some part of my brain telling me you weren't ready to know."

Nora stared at her for a while. "You are so weird," she said finally, throwing small, screwed up piece of paper at Janaya and laughing before bursting into tears.

OoOoOoO

When Sam and Dean came too, they were tied up and Meg was watching them intently. Sam groaned. "The whole thing was a trap," he said. "Running into you at the bar, following you here, hearing what you had to say, it was all set up wasn't it?" Meg laughed in response. "And that the victims were from Lawrence?"

"It doesn't mean anything," she admitted. "It was just to draw you in, that's all."

"You killed those two people for nothing," Sam said angrily.

"Maybe I'll kill a lot more for a lot less," Meg countered.

"What about that bit about the girls?" Dean asked. "Sam heard you say 'she's with them' into your freaky bowl, how was that part of the trap?"

"The boss doesn't want the girls hurt," Meg said sourly. "Annoying if you ask me but I had to make sure you wouldn't bring them here where they were in danger."

"Sure that makes sense," Dean muttered. "So, why haven't you killed us yet?"

"Not too quick on the uptake are we?" Meg said. "This trap isn't for you."

Sam stared at her for a moment. "Dad," he said. "It's a trap for Dad."

"Oh sweetheart," Dean said. "You're dumber than you look. Because even if Dad was in town, which he is not, he wouldn't walk into something like this, he's too good."

"He is pretty good, I'll give you that," Meg agreed, walking over to Dean and crouching over him. "But you see, he has one weakness."

"Oh? And what's that?" Dean asked.

"You," Meg said. "He let's his guard down around his boys. Let's his emotions cloud his judgement. I happen to know he is in town. And he'll come and try to save you, and then the Daevas will kill everybody. Nice and slow and messy."

"Well I got news for you," Dean said. "It's gonna take more than some shadow to kill him."

"Oh, the Daevas are in the room, here, they're invisible. Their shadows are just the only part you can see.

"Why are you doing this, Meg?" Sam asked. "What kind of deal have you got worked out here?"

"I'm doing this for the same reason you do what you do," Meg said. "Loyalty, love." Sam shook his head at her. "Like the love you have for Mommy, and Jess."

"Go to hell," he whispered.

She grinned. "Baby, I'm already there." She crawled away from Dean and over to Sam. "Come on, Sam, there's no need to be nasty." She straddled Sam and brought her mouth to his face. "We both know how you really feel about me." She bit his ear. "Sammy, you and I can still have a little dirty fun."

"You wanna have fun?" Sam asked. "Go ahead then, I'm a little tied up at the moment."

Dean gagged. "Get a room you two." Meg glared at him then turned her attention back to Sam. Dean fumbled the knife out of his sleeve and started hacking at the roped tied around his wrists and armed. He accidentally grazed the cement post he was tied to and made a very loud noise. Meg looked at him and frowned. She moved away from Sam and bent down to take the knife out of Dean's hands. Shaking her head at him she tossed it away and returned to Sam.

"Now, were you just trying to distract me, while your brother cuts free?" she asked, kissing his neck.

"No," Sam whispered. Meg lowered herself more so she could look him in the eye. "It was 'cause I have a knife of my own." He grabbed her shoulders and smacked her forehead with his own and knocked her to the ground.

"Sam!" Dean said. "Get the altar." Sam nodded and, rubbing his head, went over to the altar and knocked it over.

"No!" Meg screamed as the Daeva grabbed her and dragged her out the window, letting her fall to her death. Sam went back and grabbed his knife to free Dean.

"Please don't tell Nora that happened," he said.

Dean nodded. "I'm just keeping a whole bunch of secrets from her today aren't I?" They went to the window to see what happened to Meg and saw her look very dead.

"Guess the Daeva didn't like being bossed around," Sam said.

"Guess not," Dean agreed.

OoOoOoO

"You alright now," Janaya asked, releasing Nora from a hug and trying not to laugh at the tear spots on her shirt.

Nora nodded. "I feel great now," she said.

Janaya laughed. "Well, crying will do that to you." Suddenly, a man that wasn't Sam or Dean burst through the door. He took one look at Nora and Janaya and pulled out a gun, pointing it at Nora.

_I'm not losing anyone else,_ she thought to herself as a low growl escaped her throat. The man looked at her in surprise and she saw his face. It was John Winchester. _Crap,_ she thought as her eyes changed from human to canine and John gasped. He looked down at his gun and, remembering he had some silver bullets in his pocket, changed the bullets and aimed for Janaya's heart. As he pulled the trigger, Dean and Sam walked in and Dean pushed his arm out of the way, making the bullet hit her shoulder rather than her heart. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground, leaning against the wall.

"What the hell is going on here?" Dean asked looking from his father to Nora and then to Janaya. "Dad, not that it's not great to see you but what the hell?"

John looked at him, amazed. "You know these people?"

Dean nodded. "The blonde one's Nora and the one you just shot is Janaya," Dean said. "Why the hell did you shoot her?"

"She's a werewolf," John said. "I think."

"You think?!"

"Don't worry," Janaya said. "I am. Way to trust your instincts, John."

"Lone or pack?" he asked, pointing the gun at her.

"Pack," she said, trying to keep her eyes open.

"Tell me where they are and I won't kill you," John said.

Janaya shook her head. "And let you kill the only family I have left? Fuck you!"

John cocked the gun. "Fine," he said.

"Dad!" Dean said, taking the gun off him and throwing it away. "Will you calm down?"

"Calm down? You have been traveling with a werewolf!" John said. He turned back to Janaya. "You look familiar though."

Janaya shrugged. "I think you knew my father," she said, her breathing getting heavy. "You can look through his journal if you want," she said, nodding in it's general direction. "But could somebody please get this bullet out of me before I pass out?" Everyone hesitated but eventually Nora helped her to her feet and led her to the bathroom. "You three, make with the happy," Janaya said before closing the bathroom door.

Nora pulled out some tweezers from a small bag of hers that she'd left there, made Janaya lean against the sink and started trying to pull the bullet out.

"So, you're a werewolf?" Nora asked. "Yet another thing you neglected to tell me?"

Janaya sighed. "If you want, I'll explain everything," she said. "But later, I don't want to repeat myself." She winced as the bullet came free of her shoulder and blinked as the poison began to leave her system. "This is gonna bleed for _ages_," she muttered and wadded up heaps of toilet paper to stem the blood flow.

"Well, bullet wounds do that," Nora said, rinsing Janaya's blood off the tweezers and putting them back in the bag.

"Yeah, well, I've never been shot before," Janaya pointed out. She stood up and left the bathroom, Nora following close behind. They walked in on John and Sam hugging and they smiled.

"Hope we're not interrupting but -" Nora finished with a small scream as John was flung back by an invisible force. Sam was struck next and then Nora.

"Shit!" Janaya hissed, trying to keep her wound covered while, trying to dodge the shadows on the walls at the same time. At one point she miscalculated and ended up sprawled on the ground, a huge gash in her leg. Although her werewolf abilities allowed the wound to heal faster, the silver in her blood slowed it down and Janaya had trouble getting up. Dean was thrown down as well, not far behind Janaya and started bleeding heavily. He tried to fight it off and get up as one of the Daeva tore into John like he was nothing.

Sam looked around, blood dripping from his face. He noticed the bag of weapons on the ground and dived for it. "Shut your eyes!" he told everyone. "These things are shadow demons, so let's light 'em up!" He pulled out a flare and tossed it into the middle of the room and as the light filled the room, the Daeva screamed and fled.

With his eyes closed, Sam managed to throw the bag over his shoulder and help Nora to her feet. Janaya's leg had healed slightly and she was able to stand up. She found her way to John and Dean and helped John to his feet, rushing out of the hotel and to the Impala.

"Hurry," Sam said, chucking the bag in the car. "As soon as the light goes out, they'll be back."

"Sam, wait," Dean said. "Dad, you can't come with us."

"What? What are you talking about?" Sam asked. Janaya and Nora could see they were in for an awkward moment so they hung back, checking each other's wounds to make sure they weren't too serious.

"You guys are beat the hell out of," John said.

"We'll be alright," Dean said.

"Dean, we should stick together," Sam urged. "we'll all go after this demon together!"

"Sam! Listen to me," Dean said. He paused to take a breath as the pain took over momentarily. "We almost got Dad killed in there. Don't you understand, they're not gonna stop. They're gonna try again, they're gonna use us to get to him. Meg was right, Dad's vulnerable when he's with us. He's stronger without us around," he said. "And with the girls now? Not just us, we'll just slow him down and get him hurt."

"Dad, no," Sam said, turning to his father. "After everything, after all the time we spent looking for you... please, I gotta be apart of this fight."

"This fight is just starting," John said. "And we are all gonna have a part to play, even your girlfriends over there. So now you've gotta trust me. Okay? You gotta let me go."

John stared hard into Sam's eyes. Reluctantly, Sam nodded and allowed his father to move past him. John went to his truck and opened the driver's side door then turned back. "Be careful boys," he said. "Oh, and Janaya, I'm sorry about your Dad."

Janaya just nodded as John drove off. They piled in to the Impala and as Dean began reversing, he looked at Janaya. "You, explain," he said.

"Could you be a little more specific?" she asked.

He turned around to face the road and glared ahead. "Why don't you start with when?"

Janaya sighed. "I should think that at least would be obvious."

"You weren't hit by a car were you?" Nora asked.

Janaya shook her head. "I was hit by a Ranec," she said.

"Ranec," Dean said. "That name keeps popping up in conversation these days. Who the hell is he?"

"He's the pack Alpha," Janaya explained. "He runs the werewolf pack in the states."

"The whole of the US?" Nora asked.

Janaya nodded. "There's not exactly a lot of the higher breed around so there's not as much to run as it sounds like."

"Higher breed?" Sam asked.

"I think that's a conversation for another day," Janaya said. "I am too tired to explain two stories to you."

"Right," Dean said, still sounding angry. "Why'd he do it?"

"Well, he told me, he did it because he was in love with me," Janaya said quietly.

"In love with you?" Dean asked, almost stopping.

Janaya nodded. "He said he saw me when I was on my walk, decided he was in love then, in a moment of complete spastic logic, attacked me and turned me into a werewolf."

Everyone was silent as they took this in then, "Why didn't you tell me?" Nora asked. "I'm supposed to be your best friend."

"Well, it's not exactly an easy thing to say," Janaya said. "Plus, I knew you'd tell Sam and I knew he'd tell Dean."

"And why didn't you want me to know?" Dean asked, his knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel so tight.

"Because I didn't want you to look at me the way you did when you found out," she said.

"Like what?"

"Like I was just one of your monsters that needed to be put down."

"Come on," Nora said. "Dean would never do that. Would you?" she asked, turning to him.

Dean said nothing for a long while then his grip on the wheel relaxed. "I could never," he whispered.

Janaya looked up at him and saw that his hands were slipping from the wheel. "Shit, Sam, take the wheel and try and stop the car," she said quickly, unbuckling her seat belt and pulling Dean into the back of the car. He'd passed out and Janaya looked at him worriedly. She checked his pulse and found it strong and his breathing was steady, he was just exhausted and Janaya sighed with relief. "He's fine," she said as Sam stopped the car and looked back worriedly.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked. Janaya nodded. "Okay," he said and slid over to the drivers side and started the car again.

OoOoOoO

Sam drove them to a motel and checked them in. He and Nora shared a room so they disappeared and it was left up to Janaya to get Dean into his bed. Once she had finally managed to do so, he woke up and looked at her.

"I'm sorry," he said sleepily, his eyes still half closed.

Janaya frowned at him. "For what?"

"For whatever I did that made you stop loving me."

Janaya looked at him for a moment. He was still half asleep, he wouldn't say something like that otherwise but the odd thing was, it was clear he meant it. She shook her head. "I didn't," she said. "You have nothing to be sorry for." She stood up and tucked him back into bed like he was a child. "Go back to sleep." She looked around and realised Sam had booked them into a room that had only one double bed. "Bastard," she muttered. "Did that on purpose." Reluctantly, Janaya got ready for bed and slid into bed beside Dean, trying not to let him know she was there. Unfortunately, he still wasn't completely asleep and he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. Janaya froze then, after a while, allowed herself to relax against him and drift off to sleep.

OoOoOoO

**If anyone wants to see what the symbol actually looks like, what it actually means and what a Daeva really is, feel free to go to my profile and have a look.**


	13. Hell House

**Well, here it is, Chapter 13. Don't forget to review!**

OoOoOoO

_Two Months Ago_

Three teenagers trudged through the mud, following a fourth teenager with a torch.

"Come on, man, is it much further?" One of the guys asked. "I'm cold."

"It should be just up here," the leader said. They rounded a corner and an old house came into view. "Here we go."

"How'd you find this place anyway, Thirston?" One of the other guys asked.

"My cousin told me about it," Thirston explained

"Oh, I am so _not_ going in there," a blonde girl said.

"Oh, wusses," Thirston said. "We came all the way out here we might as well check it out."

"Let's just hurry this up and get back to the car, alright?" One of the guys said. "It's freakin' cold out here." He followed Thirston towards the house, the girl and the other guy following close behind.

Thirston shined the torch on the walls and floor of the house and they saw that the inside of the house was covered in satanic looking symbols. "Come on," Thirston said, leading the way to the basement. "They say he lives in the root cellar, goes after girls. Always girls. Just, strings 'em up."

"They say?" someone asked. "Who's they? Where'd you hear this crap?"

"I told you, my cousin," Thirston said.

"And where'd she hear it?"

"I dunno. She just heard it."

The guy shook his head. "Whatever, gimme that thing," he said, taking the torch of Thirston. He opened the door to the cellar and led the others down. "Oooh look it's the evil root cellar," he mocked. "Where Satan cans all his vegetables." He looked at the others. "Get your candy asses down here and see for yourselves. It's just a basement full of skank filled jars in some old farmhouse." He backed up as the others came down. "I don't see anything scary, do you?"

The others stared in horror at something behind him. He turned around and screamed as he saw a dead girl, hanging from the rafters, a noose around her neck.

OoOoOoO

_Present Day_

The Impala was heading down Interstate 35 and everyone was bored. Janaya had been reduced to playing solitaire on her ipod for the last few hours, Nora had downloaded a cellphone game and Sam had actually fallen asleep. Dean was busy driving but the lack of scenery was beginning to take the fun out of it. He glanced at the sleeping Sam and grinned, picking up a plastic teaspoon from the ground and sliding it into Sam's mouth. He pulled out his cellphone and took a picture. He turned the music up and began singing along to "Fire of Unknown Origin" by Blue Oyster Cult as loud as he could, jolting Sam awake. Janaya and Nora who'd been watching intently the whole time laughed as Sam pulled the spoon out of his mouth and tried to spit out whatever dirt and fluff had been attached to the spoon.

"Haha, very funny," Sam said, glaring at Dean.

"Well, they seemed to think so," Dean said, gesturing to the girls. "Sorry, though, not a lot of scenery in East Texas, kinda got to make your own."

"Man, we're not kids anymore, Dean, we're not gonna start that crap up again," Sam said angrily.

Nora, who had finally stopped laughing leaned forward and patted Sam's shoulder comfortingly. "Sam, relax, we've been driving down the same highway for hours, and we're all really bored. It was just a bit of fun."

"I don't care, it's stupid and it always escalates," Sam said.

"What, are you afraid you're gonna get a little hair in your shampoo again, huh?" Dean asked, grinning.

Sam looked at him for a moment. "Alright, just remember, you started it."

"Haha, bring it on, baldy," Dean said.

Janaya leaned forward. "Well, if you two are gonna start pranking people, let me make this absolutely clear. If I get pranked, I will kill whoever is responsible... well, maybe not kill, but I will hurt you," she warned.

"Same here," Nora said. "I hate being pranked."

The boys nodded. "Fine, just me and Sammy then," Dean said.

"Where are we anyway?" Sam asked, changing the subject.

"A few hours outside of Richardson," Dean told him. "Gimme the lowdown again?"

Sam blinked and grabbed a piece of paper off the dashboard. "Uh, this group of kids goes poking around in this local haunted house -"

"Haunted by what?" Nora asked.

"Apparently, a pretty misogynistic spirit," Sam said. "Legend goes, it takes girls, and strings 'em up in the rafters."

"Yikes," Nora said.

"Anyway, this group of kids see a dead girl hanging in the cellar," Sam said.

"Anyone ID the body?" Janaya asked.

"Well, that's the thing. By the time the cops got there, the body was gone," Sam explained. "So the cops are saying the kids were just yanking chains."

"Maybe the cops are right," Dean said.

"Maybe," Sam nodded. "But I read a couple of the kids first hand accounts, the seemed pretty sincere."

"Where'd you read these accounts?" Dean asked.

Sam hesitated. "Well, I knew we were gonna be passing through Texas so last night I surfed some local paranormal websites and I found one."

"And what's it called?" Nora pressed. Sam said.

Dean laughed. "Let me guess, streaming live out of mom's basement."

"Yeah probably."

"Most of those sites wouldn't know a ghost if it bit them in the persqueeter," Dean said.

Sam nodded. "Look, we let Dad take off, which was a mistake by the way, and now we don't know where the hell he is. So in the mean time we gotta find ourselves something to hunt."

Dean thought for a moment. "Alright, so where do we find these kids?"

"Same place you always find kids in a town like this," Sam said.

OoOoOoO

They pulled up at a Diner and began questioning the kids. Each of the teenagers told a slightly different story. Details such as what the girl looked like, what the house was like and what happened were different each time. The only thing they managed to get straight was where they heard about the house in the first place: Craig Thirston.

It turned out Craig Thirston worked at a record shop so they headed there next.

"Can I help you with anything?" Someone asked, carrying a load of records and sorting them.

"Yeah, are you Craig Thirston?" Sam asked.

"I am," Craig said. Janaya and Nora separated themselves from Sam and Dean and began looking through the records.

"Well, we're reporters for the _Dallas Morning News_. I'm Dean this is Sam," Dean said.

"Oh, no way?" Craig said. "I'm a writer too. Uh, who are they?" He asked, pointing to Janaya and Nora.

Dean and Sam looked at them then shrugged. "Groupies," Dean said.

"Uh, we're doing an article about local hauntings," Sam said quickly. "And rumour has it, you might know of one."

"You mean the Hell House?" Craig asked.

"That's the one," Dean said.

Craig hesitated. "I didn't think there was anything to the story," he said. Janaya lifted her head slightly at this.

"Why don't you tell us the story?" Sam said.

"Well, apparently, back in the thirties, this farmer, Mordechai Murdoch, used to live in the house with his six daughters. It was during the depression, his crops were failing. He didn't have enough money to feed his own children." Dean had joined the girls, looking through records while Sam followed Craig and listened to the story. "So I guess that's when he went off the deep end."

"How?" Sam asked. Dean chose that moment to join them.

"Well, he figured it was best if his girls died quick," Craig explained, "rather than starve to death. So he attacked them. They screamed, begged for him to stop but he just strung 'em up, one after another. And then when it was all finished he turned around and hung himself." Sam and Dean looked at each other thoughtfully. "Now they say that his spirit is trapped in the house forever, stringing up any other girl that goes inside."

Dean frowned. "Where'd you hear all this?"

"My cousin Dana told me," Craig said. "I don't know where she heard it from. You gotta realise, I didn't believe this for a second..."

"But now you do?" Sam asked.

"I don't know what to think, man," Craig said. "Look, I'll tell you exactly what I told the police. That girl was real, and she was dead. This was not a prank. I swear to God I don't want to go near that house ever again."

"Thanks," Dean said.

OoOoOoO

They drove toward the supposed "Hell House" discussing Craig story. "What do you girls think?" Dean asked.

Janaya shook her head. "I think it was all a prank," she said.  
"Why?"

"He kept trying to convince you he was a sceptic but now he believes, right?" Janaya asked. The boys nodded. "Well, when people are trying to sell you a fake ghost story, that's what they do."

"But he seemed pretty adamant that it wasn't a prank," Sam said.

Janaya shrugged. "Well, if it was he'd have to deal with the police about wasting their time," she said. "But maybe he was telling the truth, I don't know, I'm just giving you my opinion."

"Nora?" Dean asked.

Nora shrugged. "I have no idea," she said. "There's no harm in checking it out since we have nothing better to do, but Janaya's right, he did sound like he was lying."

They fell silent for the rest of the drive. Janaya wanted to say that he smelled like he was lying as well but she figured that would be a bit too much to take in at the moment. They hadn't discussed her… condition since she'd explained what had happened and she was fine with that. She was just afraid of what would happen when it came up again.

OoOoOoO

They'd had to park the car on the road and walk up the rest of the way to the house. When they got there, Dean pulled out the EMF reader and it immediately started going crazy while Sam looked in through the windows. Dean tapped the EMF reader but it's readings didn't get any clearer.

"Got anything?" Janaya asked, looking at the EMF reader.

Dean shook his head. "The EMF's no use," he said.

"Why?"  
He pointed to the power box. "I think that thing's still got a little juice in it. It's screwing with all the readings."

Janaya looked to where he was pointing. "Damn," she said.

"Come on, let's go," he said, gesturing to Sam and Nora to follow them.

"What?" Nora asked. "Didn't you hear Craig? That ghost takes _girls_. I'm a girl, I'm pretty sure, Jay's a girl so what the hell are we walking in there for?"

Janaya laughed, "Relax, Nor, like I said, Craig was probably lying. I'm sure it'll be fine," she said and followed Sam and Dean into the house. "Or you can stay out here all by yourself."

Nora shook her head and ran after Janaya. "I hate being the Scooby doo of the group," Nora said.

"You're not Scooby doo," Janaya said. "You're Shaggy. I'm Scooby."

Dean grinned. "Nah, you're Daphne, I'm Fred, and Sam's Velma," he said.

Sam punched him in the arm. "Shut up and let's get this over with," he said, getting his phone out and readying the camera to take pictures of the symbols all over the walls.

"Looks like old man Mordechai was a bit of a tagger in his time," Dean said, looking around.

Sam looked around and frowned. "And after his time too," he said. Dean frowned. "The reverse cross had been used by Satanists for centuries but the Sigil of Sulfur didn't show up in San Fransisco until the sixties."

Janaya noticed a giant Pentacle on the ground. "And any _real_ Satanist would know that a pentacle isn't a symbol of Satan. It's protection against evil, combining the five elements etcetera etcetera," she said.

"Five elements?" Nora asked.

"Yeah, you know, fire, earth, water, air and spirit. Spirit technically rules the other four but it's counted as one of the elements among pagans and other people who use the pentacle correctly." She looked around and noticed another symbol. "That's not Satanic either," she said pointing at a squiggly looking symbol. "I'm not sure what it is though."

Dean was staring at another symbol on the wall. "Hey, encyclopaedias of weird," he said to Sam and Janaya. "Ever seen this one before?"

Sam shook his head but Janaya looked at it closely. It was like an inverted cross except it was combined with an inverted question mark. "It looks familiar," Janaya said. "But I can't think where I've seen it before."

"Yeah, me too," Dean said. Sam came closer and took a picture of it before touching it gently.

"It's paint," he said, dusting remnants off his fingers. "Seems pretty fresh too."

Dean sighed. "I don't know, I mean, I hate to agree with authority figures of any kind, but I think the cops might be right about this one."

"Maybe," Sam said, stepping back. There was a noise like something falling to the floor in another room and everyone jumped. Quickly, they moved towards the sound and cautiously opened the door. They burst in and found flashlights being shined in their faces by a pair of nerdy looking guys.

"Cut!" One of them said, frustrated. "It's just a few humans."

"Beg to differ," Janaya muttered but they didn't hear her.

"What are you doing here?" the other one asked

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dean countered.

"Uh, we belong here, we're professionals," the first one said, his camera still attached to his hand.

"Professional what?"

"Paranormal investigators," he said, reaching into his pocket and producing a few business cards.

"You have got to be kidding me," Nora said, staring down at the card in her hand.

"Ed Zedmore and Harry Spangler?" Sam asked. you guys run that website." The guys nodded.

"Oh yeah, we're huge fans," Dean said, walking further into the room.

"Mhm," The first guy, Ed, said. "And we know who you guys are too."

"You do?" Dean asked.

"Yup, Amateurs," he said. "Looking for kicks and a way to impress your girlfriends over there."

"Yeah," the other guy, Harry, said. "So if you guys don't mind, we're trying to conduct a serious scientific investigation."

"Really? What you got so far?" Janaya asked, leaning against one of the walls.

Ed grinned at her. "Harry, why don't you tell 'em about EMF?"

"EMF?" Nora asked, leaning next to Janaya.

"Electro Magnetic Field," Harry explained. "Spectral entities cause energy fluctuations that can be read with an EMF detector. Like this bad boy right here."

"Impressive," Janaya said, trying to hold back from laughing.

Ed moved closer to Janaya and leaned over her. "If you think _that's_ impressive, you should ditch these losers and come with us on some of _our_ investigations."

"Tempting," Janaya lied. "But I'm yet to be convinced what you do is any more interesting than what these guys do."

"Yeah, have you ever seen a real ghost before?" Nora asked, feigning excitement.

Ed turned to her. "Once," he said. "We were investigating this old house and we saw a vase fall right off the table."

"By itself," Harry added.

"Well, we didn't actually see it, we heard it," Ed corrected. "But something like that, it changes you."

"Wow," the girls said.

"Well, I think I get the picture," Dean said. "We should go, let them get back to work. Sam, girls." The girls nodded and followed Dean out.

"Wait a minute," Ed said. "You girls can stay, it's just your boyfriends that are impeding the research."

Janaya smiled. "Sorry, we like our men a little stronger than you," she said. "And since I'm pretty sure even Nora here could kill you both with her pinky at the same time. I think we'll pass this time. Thanks for the offer though."

Later, Sam and Nora came out of the library and found Janaya and Dean walking passed in silence.

"Thank god," Janaya muttered when they returned. "What've you got?"

"We couldn't find a Mordechai but we did get a Martin Murdoch who lived in that house in the thirties," Sam said.

"He did have children but only two of them, both boys," Nora said. "And there's no record he ever killed anyone. What about you?"

"Well, the kids didn't really give us a good description of the dead girl," Janaya said. "But we did check the police station."

"Yeah, there's no matching missing persons, it's like she never existed," Dean said as they reached the Impala. "Come on, we did our digging, this ones a bust. For all we know, those hell hound boys made up the whole thing."

"Yeah, alright," Sam said, as Dean unlocked the car.

"I say we find ourselves a bar and some beer and leave the legend to the locals," Dean said. He opened his door and got in, Janaya was about to do the same but Nora stopped her. Janaya frowned but said nothing. Dean closed his door and started the car and was blasted by loud salsa music. Sam laughed and got in the passenger seat while the girls climbed in the back as Dean turned the music off. "That's all you got?" Dean asked. "That's weak."

OoOoOoO

They stopped off at the motel they had checked into when they first got there, first because both girls insisted on getting changed if they were going out. Once again, Sam and Nora were sharing a room and Dean and Janaya were but this time Janaya had been there to make sure there would be two separate beds.

"Jay, can... can we talk?" Dean asked, when Sam and Nora had disappeared into their room and Janaya had shut the door behind her.

"Vocal chord wise? Yes," she said. "With each other? That depends on what."

Dean sighed and hesitated, unsure of how to start. Eventually he said, "Us, I guess."

Janaya sat down on the edge of her bed and looked up at him. "Alright, you start."

"Right, well, you're a werewolf, and I'm a human and I can see how that would cause a problem," he said. "But..."

"But what?" Janaya pressed

"But... but I honestly don't care," he said. "I just want to be with you."

"Look, Dean, I just don't think that could work."

"But why?"

"Because, I'm a werewolf and you're a human and – "

"And what?"

"And it's not safe, okay?" Janaya said. "It is not safe for you to be with me."

"Who cares?" Dean said. "It's not safe to hunt ghosts and demons but I do that anyway!"

"That's different," Janaya said, turning away from him.

"How? How is that different?"

"Because when you hunt, you keep your guard up, you calculate before you go," she explained, "but if you're with me, you'll relax, and I'll relax and... what if I lose control? What if I turn and I hurt you? Or kill you?"

"You're stronger than that," Dean said, "you can keep it under control... except maybe during the full moon..."

Janaya shrugged. "The moon phase doesn't make a difference to the higher breed," she said. "The full moon's not a problem."

"Then what is?"

"Look, I was with the pack a month, maybe less, I didn't exactly have time to learn everything, to be honest, I don't think Ranec wanted me too," she said. "When I found out what he'd told you, I had to come back, he tried to stop me and I wasn't listening, I was so mad I just ran. But now that I think about it, he was right, I can't be here and not be a threat to all of you. Even in human form, I'm strong, I could smash your skull in with one punch, Dean, it's pretty hard to recover from that kind of injury."

"So, you're saying that even if we're not together, you're still dangerous?" Dean asked. Janaya just nodded. Dean put his hands on her shoulders and swept her hair to the side. He kissed the other side of her neck softly and felt her shiver. "I'd rather be with you and be happy, than to have to stand back and watch you slip away," he said.

"But –" she stopped as he kissed her neck again. "Dean..." she whispered.

Dean turned her around to face him. "If I'm going to be in danger even when I'm not hunting, at least let me be happy doing it," he said.

"I could just leave," she said quietly. "Then you wouldn't be at risk at all."

"But I wouldn't be happy," he said. "Would you?" Janaya thought for a moment then shook her head. Dean bent down and kissed her. "Stay with me," he said, "and we can figure it out."

Janaya pushed him away. "You can't just say a few nice, logical things, kiss me and expect everything not to matter anymore." She thought for a moment. "All though, I am impressed that you're now starting to use logic."

"Jay..."

"No, Dean, let's think for a moment about the circumstances leading up to this argument," she said. "First of all, I caught you making out with your ex girlfriend, which is why I went out alone in the first place and ended up a werewolf with you guys thinking I was dead."

"Okay," Dean said. "I can see what you're getting at but that thing with Cassie hardly counts. I mean, she was my first love and I was incredibly confused. And what had you been doing with Ranec that month you were gone?"

"That's not fair," Janaya said. "I was upset and confused so I turned a necessity into a way to make me feel better."

Dean huffed incredulously. "How the hell is sex with some werewolf a necessity?"

Janaya's eyes flashed. "_Some werewolf_?" She asked. "_Some werewolf_? Is that what you think of me as well?"

Dean resisted the urge to step back. "No, I – "

"You what?" Janaya asked.

"I meant to say 'some _guy_'," Dean said quietly. "It just sort of slipped."

"'Sort of slipped'," Janaya repeated icily. "Because you can't accept the fact that werewolves are just like what you would call 'regular people' aside from the fact that they turn furry every once in a while. Which is why I wonder if you mean it when you say you don't care. If werewolves are so far below you, Dean, then why do you want me so much? What makes me different?"

Dean couldn't speak. They had unknowingly moved closer together and were now standing toe to toe so that Janaya had to look up at Dean. They were both glaring at each other and their fists were clenched in frustration. Dean wanted to scream, how could he make her see? How could he put into words what he felt? When no answer came to him, he gripped her shoulders hard and kissed her.

"Because I love you," he whispered once he had pulled away. Janaya was frozen to the spot, her hands by her sides. "I love you more than anything or anyone I've ever loved and I can't lose you again."

"You do?" Janaya managed to croak after a while.

Dean laughed slightly. "Yeah," he said. "I am so sorry. I should have said it months ago but... you know the old saying: 'you never know what you've got till it's lost' or something like that."

She smiled and, realising she had been crying, wiped the tears from her face. It had only just caught up with her how much she missed being with him. She reached up and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck. "This is going to be one messed up relationship," she said. Dean just laughed and kissed her again.

"Hey, are you guys ready?" Sam asked, bursting into the room. "Woops," he said, when he saw them kissing. "Sorry to interrupt."

"Actually, it was probably a good thing," Janaya said. "Can't get ready if we're standing around... doing other stuff." She grabbed some clothes out of her bag and headed towards the bathroom. "I'll be right back."

Dean grinned at his younger brother as Janaya shut the bathroom door. "I got her back," he said proudly.

"I noticed," Sam said. "And I'm happy for you but... how exactly is that going to work?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "And I love her too much to care. We'll just work through the kinks as we go I guess."

Janaya reappeared out of the bathroom. "Ready," she said, dumping her other clothes on her bed. She slid her hand into Dean's and followed him out of the motel room.

OoOoOoO

The next day, they had packed up the room and were about to check out when they saw a couple of police cars speed, sirens blaring, towards the Hell House. They all looked at each other then ran to the car and followed them. After parking the Impala, they walked up to the Hell House and saw a body being carted off. They approached a man who'd just finished talking to one of the deputies and asked him what happened.

"A couple of cops say that poor girl hung herself inside the house," he explained.

"Suicide?" Sam asked.

The guy nodded. "Yeah, and she was a straight A student, with a full ride to UT. It just doesn't make sense," he said and walked away.

"What do you think?" Nora asked no one in particular, watching sadly as the body bag was placed in the back of an ambulance.

"I think maybe we missed something," Dean answered.

OoOoOoO

Later that night, they came back, Nora and Janaya much more worried than they were before.

"If you think it's such a bad idea, why did you come?" Dean asked.

"What, and let you do all the work?" Janaya asked. "Please."

They were hiding behind the bushes as cops patrolled the area around the house. "Guess the cops don't want anymore kids messing around in there," Sam said.

"Yeah, but we've still got to get in there," Nora pointed out. They sat in silence for a moment and heard familiar voices coming from further down their hiding place.

"I don't believe it," Dean said. The others turned around to see Ed and Harry, decked out with gear, moving towards the house. "I got an idea," Dean said, standing up. "Who ya gonna call?" he called to the police who turned around and saw Ed and Harry. They ran to apprehend them and, while the cops were distracted, they ran into the Hell House. They closed the door quickly and dropped to the floor, pulling rock salt shot guns and torches out of the weapons bag. They moved further into the house and Dean stopped at the symbol. "Man, where have I seen that symbol before, it's killing me."

"Come on," Janaya said, pulling on Dean's arm.

They went down to the cellar and looked around, seeing nothing. Dean noticed the jars on the shelves and picked one up, grinning. "Sam, I dare you to take a swig of this," he said.

"The hell would I do that for?" Sam asked.

Dean looked back at the jar. "I double dare you."

"Dean, stop being immature," Janaya said, taking the jar off him. "We have a ghost to hunt, remember?"

"Being bossy isn't going to make me not want you anymore," he said, calmly as she put the jar back where it belonged. Janaya just shook her head then jumped as she heard a scratching sound coming from a cupboard to her right. They surrounded it, guns at the ready and Sam cautiously opened it. Several rats squealed and fled the cupboard making Janaya and Nora sigh with relief. "I hate rats," Dean groaned, trying to avoid them.

"You'd rather it was a ghost?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Dean said.

Janaya felt something move behind her and she spun around to see Mordechai Murdoch wielding an axe. "Holy shit!" she said before remembering the shot gun in her hand and shooting the ghost. The others joined in but the rock salt seemed to do little to stop the ghost, instead it just disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

"What the hell kind of spirit is immune to rock salt?" Sam asked.

"I dunno," Dean said, "Come on." They moved as quickly as they could out of the cellar but Mordechai reappeared, swinging his axe at them. They ran up the stairs and sprinted through the front door, nearly bowling over Ed and Harry in their hurry to escape.

OoOoOoO

Everyone had gathered in Dean and Janaya's room to figure out what had gone wrong with the ghost. Janaya had eventually given up and gone to have a shower, leaving Sam, Nora and Dean to the research. Dean sat on his bed, doodling the inverted cross/question mark symbol on a note pad.

"What the hell is this symbol?" He asked himself. "It's bugging the hell out of me. This whole damn job's bugging me. I thought the legend said that Mordechai only goes after chicks."

"It does," Sam said.

"Well, that explains you guys, but why'd it go after me?" Dean asked.

Nora rolled her eyes. "The legend also says he hung himself but did you see those slit wrists?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sam said. "And what about that axe? Ghosts are usually pretty strict, right, following the same patterns over and over but –"

"But this guy keeps changing," Dean finished for him.

"Exactly," Sam said, clicking on a link on the hell hounds website. "The way the story goes... wait a minute."

"What?" Nora asked.

"Someone added a new post onto the hell hound site," he explained. "Listen to this: 'They say Mordechai Murdoch was really a Satanist who chopped up his victims with an axe before slitting his own wrists. Now he's imprisoned in the house for eternity.' Where the hell is this going?"

Janaya chose that moment to come out of the bathroom, humming to herself. Dean looked up at her then down at the symbol in his hands and sat up suddenly. "I dunno, but I think I just figured out where it all started," he said, getting off the bed and heading outside, towards the car.

OoOoOoO

Dean drove them back to the record shop where Craig Thirston worked, leaving the others to wonder what he was thinking. "Hey, Craig," Dean said as he saw Craig heading upstairs. "Remember us?"

Craig sighed and turned around. "Guys, I'm really not in the mood to answer any more of your questions, okay?"

"Oh don't worry, we're just here to buy an album, that's all," Dean said and started flicking through the B's in the stall next to him.

"Dean, what are you doing?" Janaya whispered.

"You'll see," he said, pulling out an album and going over to Craig, the others following behind. "You know, I couldn't figure out what that symbol was and then, when you came out of the bathroom humming, I realised, it doesn't mean anything. It's the logo for Blue Oyster Cult." He turned his attention to the teenager in front of him. "So tell me Craig, are you a fan of BOC or just scaring the hell out of people?" Craig took the album off Dean and looked down at it. "Now, why don't you tell us about that house? Without lying through your ass this time."

Craig looked uncomfortable then sighed. "Alright," he said. "My cousin Dana was on break from TCU. We were bored, looking for something to do, so I showed her this abandoned dump I found. We thought it would be funny if we made it look like it was haunted. So, we painted symbols on the walls, some from some albums, some from Dana's theology text books. We found out this guy Murdoch used to live there so we made up a story to go with that. So, they told people who told more people. And then these two guys put it on their stupid website and everything just took on a life of its own. I mean, I thought it was funny at first but now that girl's dead... it... it was just a joke you know... none of it was real we made the whole thing up. I swear." Craig looked at each of them, distraught clear on his face. Janaya suddenly felt really bad, realising that Craig was only slightly younger than herself. She gave him a hug until he had calmed down then smiled reassuringly at him as she followed the others out of the store.

"If none of it was real, how the hell do you explain Mordechai," Dean muttered.

OoOoOoO

Janaya and Nora were sitting in Nora and Sam's motel room, eating junk food and waiting for Sam to get out of the shower, when Dean came in and started rummaging through Sam's underwear.

"What the hell are you doing?" Janaya asked. Dean just raised a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet while he poured some kind of powder all over Sam's underwear. Janaya sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Dean's back!" Nora called to Sam.

"Great, where were you!" Sam yelled out.

"Just out!" Dean called back.

"So I think I might have a theory about what's going on," Sam said, turning the shower off.

"Yeah?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, what if Mordechai is a tulpa?" Sam asked.

"Tulpa?" Dean said incredulously as the bathroom door opened. Sam came out with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Holy crap," Janaya said to Nora. "And you go to bed to that every night?" Nora just grinned and nodded. Thankfully, Sam heard none of that as he was still talking to Dean.

"Yeah, you know a Tibetan thought form," Sam said.

"Yeah, I know what a Tulpa is," Dean said, only just managing to hide the powder from Sam. "Why don't you get dressed then we'll go get something to eat."

Janaya, Nora and Dean left the room so that Sam could get dressed in peace. "What did you put in his underwear?" Janaya whispered.

"Itching powder," Dean said.

Janaya and Nora laughed. "You dick," Nora said through her laughter.

OoOoOoO

Dean and Sam grabbed the drinks and headed towards the girls who were saving a table, Sam wriggling uncomfortably the whole way. "Dude, what's your problem?" Dean asked, trying not to laugh.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Sam said, sitting down.

"Alright, keep going about the Tulpas," Nora said, trying to control her grinning.

"Okay, so there was this incident in Tibet in the 1950's," Sam said. "A group of monks visualised a golem in their heads. They meditate on it so hard, they bring the thing to life. Out of thin air."

"So?" Dean asked.

"That was twenty monks," Sam said. "Imagine what ten thousand web surfers could do." He pulled out his laptop and head to the hell hound page. "I mean, Craig starts the story about Mordechai, then it spreads, goes online. Now there are countless people all believing in the bastard."

"Wait a second, are you saying that because people believe in Mordechai, he's real?" Janaya asked.

"I dunno, maybe," Sam said, wriggling slightly.

"People believe in Santa Clause," Dean said. "How come I'm not getting hooked up every Christmas?"

"'Cause you're a bad person," Sam said. "And because of this." He turned his computer around so the others could see and showed them the squiggly symbol Janaya had pointed out the first time they entered the house. "That's a Tibetan spirit Sigil, on the wall of the house," Sam said. "Craig said they were painting symbols from a theology text book. I bet you they painted this, not even knowing what it was. That symbol has been used for centuries, concentrating meditative thoughts like a magnifying glass."

"Shit," Janaya whispered.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "People are on the hell hound website, staring at the symbol, thinking about Mordechai... I don't know, but I think it might be enough to bring a Tulpa to life."

"It would explain why it keeps changing," Dean said, sipping his coffee.

"Right, as the legend changes, people think different things so Mordechai himself changes," Sam said. "That would also explain why the rock salt didn't work."

"Yeah, 'cause he's not a traditional spirit per say," Dean said.

"Why don't we just try and get the spirit Sigil thing off the wall and off the website?" Nora asked.

"Well, it's not that easy," Sam said. "Once Tulpas are created, they take on a life of their own."

"Well, if he really is a thought form, how the hell are we supposed to kill an idea?" Janaya asked.

"Well, it's not going to be easy with these guys helping us," Sam said. "Check out their homepage." Playing over and over again was a video the nerds had managed to get of Mordechai in the doorway of the house. "Since they posted the video, the number of hits has quadrupled in the last day alone." Sam wriggled again and pulled a face.

Dean thought for a moment then stood up. "I got an idea," he said. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Sam asked, putting his laptop away.

"We need to find a copy store," Dean explained.

As Sam stood up, the itching got the better of him and he did a small dance. "Man, I think I'm allergic to our soap or something."

Dean laughed loudly and Sam glared at him. "You did this?" Dean just laughed more. "You're a friggin' jerk!"

"Oh yeah!" Dean said proudly.

OoOoOoO

Ed and Harry sat in their trailer, reviewing the video on their website. "No, no, no," Harry said. "Forget it, I'm not going back in there."

"Harry, look at me," Ed said, snapping his fingers. "Right here. You are a ghost hunter, okay?"

"I know but Ed I've never actually seen a real ghost before," Harry pointed out. "Like, a real ghost, it's like an apparition."

"This stuff right here, _this_ is our ticket to the big time. Fame, money, sex," Ed said. "With girls... maybe even those two hotties we ran into at the Hell House. Be brave. Okay? W-W-B-D. What would Buffy do?"

"What would Buffy do?" Harry whispered to himself. "I know, but Ed she's stronger than me."

"Hey, it's okay – " He was interrupted by a loud banging on the trailer door.

"Come on out here guys we hear you in there," Dean said. Ed and Harry opened the door and stepped out. "Would you look at that, action figures in their original packaging, what a shock."

"Guys, we need to talk," Sam said.

"Yeah, uh, sorry guys, we're a little bit busy right now," Ed said.

"Okay well, we'll make it quick," Dean said. "We need you to shut down your website."

Ed laughed and turned to Harry. "Didn't these guys get us busted last night? We spent the night in a holding cell..."

Harry nodded. "I had to pee in that cell urinal, in front of people, and I get stage fright."

"Why should we trust you guys?" Ed asked.

"Because it's really important," Janaya said, from behind Dean.

"Look guys, we all know what we saw last night, what's in the house," Sam asked. "But now, thanks to your website, there are thousands of people hearing about Mordechai."

"That's right," Dean said. "That means people are gonna keep showing up at the hell house and running into him in person... somebody could get hurt."

"Ed, maybe he's got a point," Harry said.

"Nope."

"Nope," Harry amended.

"Look, we have an obligation to our fans, to the truth..."

Dean laughed."Well, I have an obligation to kick both your little asses –" Janaya put her hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

"Dean, don't bother, it's not worth it," she said. "these guys... you could probably bitch slap them both, we could probably even tell them that thing about Mordechai but they're still not gonna help us. So let's just go."

"Yeah, you're right," Dean said, leading her and the others back to the Impala.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Ed said, following them.

"Yeah, what thing about Mordechai?" Harry asked.

"Don't tell them," Dean said.

"But if they agree to shut their website down, Dean," Sam said.

"They're not gonna do it," Dean said.

"No, wait, don't listen to him," Ed said. "Okay? We'll do it?"

"It's a secret, Sam," Nora said.

"Look, it's a pretty big deal, all right? And it wasn't easy to dig up," Sam said. "So only if we have your word that you'll shut everything down."

"Totally," Ed said.

"Alright," Sam said. Dean pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Ed. "It's a death certificate, from the thirties," Sam explained. "We found it at the library. According to the coroner, the actual cause of death was a self inflicted gun shout wound."

"That's right, he didn't hang or cut himself," Dean said.

"He shot himself?" Harry asked.

"Yup, with a .45 pistol," Janaya said. "To this day they say he's terrified of him."

"Yeah and if you shoot him with a .45 and load it with these special wrought iron rounds, you can kill the bastard," Nora said. "Or so they say."

OoOoOoO

Sam had his laptop out as they sat at a diner table, biding time. Dean pulled the string of the wooden man on the wall, causing it to laugh. Sam turned it off. "If you pull that string one more time, I'll kill you."

"You'll have to get in line," Janaya said, glaring at Dean. Dean looked at both of them then pulled the string quickly. Sam turned it off again and Janaya resisted the urge to break Dean's arm.

Dean sighed. "They post it yet?" he asked. Sam nodded and turned the laptop around so he could see. "'We've learned from trustworthy sources that Mordechai Murdoch has a fatal fear of firearms,'" Dean read. "Alright, how long do we wait?"

"Long enough for the new story to spread and the legend to change," Sam said, "I figure by nightfall, iron rounds will work on the sucker."

"Sweet," Dean said, picking up his beer bottle and toasting Sam's. Sam, Nora and Janaya grinned at each other as Dean took a long drink of his beer. When he was done, he tried to put the beer bottle down but found it stuck to his hand. Sam nearly choked on his beer as he laughed and the girls were laughing just as hard. "You didn't," Dean said.

Sam laughed and held up a small tube of super glue. "Oh, I did," he said and pulled the laughing man's string.

OoOoOoO

After leaving a distraction for the police, they snuck into the Hell House, guns loaded with iron rounds and at the ready.

"I barely have any skin left on my palm," Dean complained, referring to the fact that he had finally managed to pull the bottle off his hand.

"Shhh," Nora said, nodding her head in the direction of the root cellar. They quickly moved to the door and hesitated, pointing their guns at it.

"You think old Mordechai's home?" Dean asked.

"I dunno," Sam said.

"Me neither," Someone said from behind them.

They jumped and spun around, now pointing their guns at Ed and Harry who had snuck up behind him. "What they hell are you trying to do, get yourselves killed?" Sam asked.

"We're just trying to get a book and movie deal," Ed said, his hands raised in surrender. There was a sound of knives sharpening and everyone turned to the door, those with guns had them raised and ready to shoot.

"Uh, guys, you wanna go open that door for us?" Ed asked, pointing his camera at the door.

"Why don't you?" Janaya asked, her finger on the trigger twitching. None of them needed to open the door because Mordechai burst through, swinging his axe and yelling. They let rip with the bullets, not stopping until he had disappeared again in a puff of black smoke. Dean nodded his head and they dispersed to check and make sure that he wasn't still hanging around.

"Oh, he's gone," Ed breathed, relieved.

"Did you get him?" Harry asked.

"Oh yeah, they got him," Ed said, slightly shocked.

"No _on camera,_" Harry said. "Did you get him on camera?"

"What, oh," Ed said, and checked started fiddling with the camera to see if he'd managed to catch Mordechai.

"Here, let me try," Harry said impatiently, taking the camera off Ed. He fiddled with it himself and was about to play back what they'd got when Mordechai reappeared and smacked the camera out of his hand then disappeared again.

"Didn't you guys post that B.S. story we gave you?" Dean asked, when they'd all returned to the room.

"Of course we did," Ed said.

"Yeah but then our server crashed," Harry added.

"Perfect," Nora said sarcastically.

"So it didn't take?" Janaya asked. Ed and Harry just shrugged.

"So these guns don't work?" Dean asked, gesturing at the guns in their hands.

"Uh... no," Ed finally said.

"Great," Dean said. "Any ideas?" He asked no one in particular.

"We are getting out of here, " Harry said, dragging Ed towards the exit of the house. Mordechai found them and chased them, screaming, into a dead end of the house. He was about to bring the axe down on them when Janaya interrupted him.

"Hey, Ugly," she said, dropping her gun to the floor. "Come and get it."

Growling, Mordechai turned on her but when he brought the axe down she caught it and managed to move herself out of its path. Slightly confused, Mordechai tried to push her up against the wall with the axe but as they were of equal strength, found that, although he just succeeded, it was a pretty useless effort. Janaya allowed him some power of her in an effort to distract him and told Ed and Harry to run while she dealt with Mordechai. Meanwhile, Sam and Nora were covering Dean as he spilled chemicals all over the ground. When he was done, Dean led the others to the door and called to Janaya. On hearing that it was time to go, Janaya kicked Mordechai in the stomach, causing him to move backwards, she pushed his arms back, threw him into the wall and ran out of the house with the others. Dean paused at the doorway. "What are you doing?" Janaya asked.

"Look, if Mordechai can't leave the house, and we can't kill him," Dean said, pulling out his lighter. "We improvise." He dropped his lighter then ran out of the house as it went up in flames, with the help of the chemicals and accelerant Dean had applied earlier. Ed and Harry had disappeared but Dean, Sam, Janaya and Nora, ran into the woods surrounding the Hell House and watched it burn.

"That's your solution?" Sam asked, astounded. "Burn the whole damn place to the ground?"

"Well, no one will go in anymore," Dean pointed out. "I mean look, Mordechai can't haunt a house if there isn't a house to haunt. It's fast and dirty but it works."

"But what if the legend changes again and Mordechai is allowed to leave the house?" Nora asked.

Dean thought for a moment. "Well, then we'll just have to come back," he said.

"Kinda makes you wonder," Sam said thoughtfully. "Of all the things we hunted, how many existed just because people believed in 'em?"

OoOoOoO

The next morning, everyone was up and packing and Nora was checking her emails on Sam's computer. When she was done, she turned it off and handed it to Sam so that he could put it in his bag. "Before we leave town, we're gonna go talk to Ed and Harry, you know, see how they're doing," Sam said.

Nora nodded. "Could you drop me off at the airport on the way?"

Sam nodded then stopped. "What?"

Nora looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well, you know my pen pal from Romania? He kinda, bought me a ticket to go and visit him and I figure, why not? I mean, I've never been to Romania before and I do kinda want to meet him in person..."

Sam frowned. "So you're going to drop everything and go visit some guy in Romania, who you've never met before?" He asked. "What if he's some psycho killer or something?"

Nora shrugged. "I'm fairly certain he's not," she said. "Before Palari stripped my powers I used them to suss him out and he seems okay."

Sam seemed reluctant. "When will you be back?"

Nora shook her head. "That's another thing," she said. "I have no idea. So... wow I can't believe I'm saying this... I think we should take a break while I'm gone... you know, so that things don't get complicated."

Sam thought for a moment. "A break?" Nora nodded. "Well, I guess I could handle that," he said. "As long as you promise to come back."

Nora nodded. "Promise."

OoOoOoO

So as they waited outside the trailer park, it was without Nora and it was slightly gloomy. Ed and Harry appeared with the last of their luggage to go in their car and grinned stupidly and Sam, Dean and Janaya.

"Should we tell 'em?" Harry asked.

"Why not? They're just gonna hear about it in the trades," Ed pointed out.

Harry nodded. "So this morning," he said. "We got a phone call from a very important Hollywood producer."

"Oh yeah, wrong number?" Dean asked, following them to their car.

"No smart ass," Ed said. "He read all about the Hell House on our website and wants to auction the motion picture rights... maybe even have us write it."

"And create the RPG," Harry added.

Dean turned to him. "The what?"

"Role Playing Game," Harry explained.

"There's a little lingo for ya," Ed said. "Anywho, if you'll excuse us, we're off to lala land." He made to get in the car but stopped and turned to Janaya. "There's room for one more," he said.

Janaya smiled sweetly. "Thanks, but I'll pass," she said. "I'm not really one for the glamorous lifestyle."

Ed shrugged and started the car, driving off without a second look back. Dean, Sam and Janaya just tried hard not to laugh at their arrogance as they walked back to the Impala.

""I have a confession to make," Sam said.

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"I was the one who called them and told them I was a producer," he said. Dean and Janaya looked back at Ed and Harry's car and laughed.

"Yeah well I'm the one who put the dead fish in their back seat," Dean said.

Sam laughed then sighed. "Truce?" he asked.

"Yeah, truce," Dean agreed. "At least for the next hundred miles."

"Thank god," Janaya said as she got into the back seat of the Impala. "The pranks were beginning to get a little old."

Sam and Dean slid into the front of the Impala and nodded. "Hey, I'm sorry about Nor," Dean said to Sam.

Sam shrugged. "Why? She's coming back," he said. "Besides, every couple needs a break from each other some time."

Janaya nodded. "That's right," she said, lying down. "Now, since I didn't get any sleep last night, I'll sleep now. Wake me up when there is another crisis to avert."


	14. Something Wicked

A little girl knelt at her bed, hands clasped together under her chin and eyes closed

A little girl knelt at her bed, hands clasped together under her chin and eyes closed.

"Now I lay me down to sleep," she said seriously, "I pray the lord my soul to keep, thy angels watch me through the night and keep me safe till morning light. Amen."

"Amen," her father agreed from the doorway. The girl bundled herself into bed and her father knelt over her, making sure the blankets covered her completely. "Good night, monkey-puss," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Daddy," she asked. "Is Mommy coming home?"

Her father hesitated. His wife was at the hospital, sitting with their older daughter who'd come down with a serious case of pneumonia. "No honey, she's spending the night at the hospital with your sister. You sleep tight now," he said and left the room, turning out the light and closing the door behind him.

The little girl found it hard to sleep; instead she was sitting straight up in bed, staring ahead of her. Although it had gotten considerably darker since her father had left the room, the moon outside was bright and shined annoyingly through the still open curtains. The bare tree outside knocked against the window as the wind pushed against it. The little girl slowly turned her head towards the window and for a moment thought she saw the shadow of a hand against a part of the curtain but she blinked and it was gone. Taking a deep breath, she ran to the window and hurriedly shut the curtains before diving back into bed and hiding her head under the covers. The shadow of the hand returned to the window and, although she couldn't see it, she could hear something scraping against the outside window sill and open her window. As the wind blew through her room, making toys on the shelves shake slightly; a hand touched her shoulder and turned her around. There was an unrecognisable face beneath a hood, a lot of light and the little girl screamed as loud as she could.

OoOoOoO

Janaya frowned as she undid her seatbelt and stretched out in the back-seat of the Impala.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked, trying not to take his eyes off the road. "What happens if I crash?"

Janaya laughed. "First of all, you won't crash, this car is your baby and you love it more than me," she joked. "Secondly, even if you do crash, I'll be fine unless my head gets lopped off. It just feels weird having this seat empty so I decided to fill it."

Dean shook his head but smiled then turned to Sam. "So what were you saying?"

Sam sighed. "There's nothing there worth looking at," he said again.

Dean shrugged. "You probably just missed something."

"Dude, I ran lexus nexus, local police reports, newspapers, I couldn't find a single red flag," Sam said firmly. "Are you sure you got the coordinates right?"

"Yeah, I double checked," Dean assured him. "It's Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Look, Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important, Sammy."

"Well, I'm telling you I looked and all I could find was a big steaming pile of nothing," Sam said. "If Dad's sending us hunting for something, I don't know what."

"Well, maybe he's gonna meet us there," Dean suggested hopefully.

Sam looked incredulous. "Yeah, 'cause he's been so hard to find up to this point."

"You're a real smart ass you know that?" Dean said.

"Can I interrupt you ladies for a moment?" Janaya said from the back. "I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but there's always the chance that it wasn't your Dad," she pointed out. "I mean, sure, it came from your dad's phone but there's no guaranteeing that he was actually the one that sent the text."

Dean looked at her for a moment through the rear view mirror. "Nah, don't worry, I'm sure there's something in Fitchburg worth killing."

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?" Sam asked.

"'Cause I'm the oldest... which means I'm always right," Dean said.

"No it doesn't," Sam argued.

"Oh it totally does," Janaya said.

OoOoOoO

They had stopped about halfway through Fitchburg, outside a park, and Dean had run across the road to get coffees. Sam and Janaya leant against the car, frowning at the park.

"Well, the waitress thinks the local Freemasons are up to something sneaky but other than that, nobody's heard about anything weird going on," Dean said, handing them their coffees.

"Dean, you got the time?" Janaya asked, not taking her eyes off the park.

Dean glanced down at his watch. "Ten after four," he told her. "Why?"

"What's wrong with this picture?" she asked.

Dean turned to the park and saw one small girl playing on the playground, her mother watching her. Other than those two, there was no one else at the park.

"School's out innit?" Dean asked.

Sam and Janaya nodded. "So where is everybody?" Sam asked. "This place should be crawling with kids right now."

Dean frowned and went over to the park. "Sure is quiet out here," he said to the little girl's mother.

"Yeah, it's a shame," she said, looking away from her daughter briefly to glance up at Dean.

"Why's that?"

"You know, kids getting sick," she elaborated. "It's a terrible thing."

"How many?" Dean asked.

"Just five or six, but serious," the woman said. "Hospital serious. A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious, they think it's catching."

Dean said nothing, just watched the girl playing by herself with a thoughtful look on his face.

OoOoOoO

Sam and Dean dropped Janaya off at an internet café while they went to investigate at the hospital. She logged on to the internet and found an email from Nora. It told her that both Romania and Mika were incredibly beautiful (although she didn't have any pictures of either yet) and it also said that she missed them all heaps and since ghost hunting couldn't possibly be going well without her, she'd try and be back soon.

Janaya just smiled and typed a quick reply back before getting down to the research. She didn't know what the boys may have found out but she did do a broad search about sicknesses in children caused by the supernatural and by the time the boys had picked her up, she had nothing.

"So, what've you guys got that beats my nada?" she asked, climbing into the car.

"Well, for starters, all the kids are unconscious," Dean said. "Every single one of them, they've all got some hard core pneumonia."

"And it spreads through the children in one family before moving on, one sibling after another within twenty-four hours," Sam added.

Janaya frowned. "Well, that's not normal," Janaya said. "But I suppose, it might not be anything supernatural, maybe just really fast accumulating, scary pneumonia."

Dean nodded. "Could be," he said "But we're going to check out the most recent victim's house, just to make sure, no one will be home for a while, both kids are in hospital and the parents are there waiting for news."

Janaya nodded. "They must be worried sick."

OoOoOoO

Sam searched the walls of the little girl's room with a black light while Dean wandered around the room with his EMF reader. Janaya, meanwhile, was standing still, a blank look on her face.

"You got anything over there?" Sam asked Dean.

Dean shook his head. "Nothing," he said. He looked up from the reader as he turned it off and glanced at Janaya. "You okay?"

Janaya blinked suddenly then looked at Dean questioningly. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she said, and turned to look at the window. She moved over to it, frowning and pushed it open. She looked down at the sill and sighed. "Well, it's not just pneumonia," she said.

"What?" Sam and Dean asked, moving over to the window. On the window sill there was a large hand print, rotted into the wood. "What the hell leaves a hand print like that?" Sam asked.

Janaya shook her head and Dean stared at the hand print, lost in thought. "I know why Dad sent us here," he said eventually. "He's faced this thing before and he wants us to finish the job."

OoOoOoO

"What the hell is a Shtriga?" Sam asked Dean as they got out of the car at a motel.

"A kind of witch I think," Dean said. "I don't know much about them."

"Well, I've never heard of it," Sam said, "and it's not in Dad's journal."

"Dad hunted one in Fort Douglas Wisconsin about 16 or 17 years ago," Dean explained. "You were there, you don't remember?"

"No."

"Well, I guess he caught one of the things in Fitchburg now and kicked us the coordinates."

"So this... Shtriga, you think it's the same one Dad hunted before," Sam asked.

"Yeah maybe," Dean said. At this point, Dean now had his and Janaya's bags out of the trunk and was walking towards the motel.

"But if Dad went after it, why's it still breathing air?"

"Because it got away," Dean said.

"Got away?"

"Yeah Sammy it happens," Dean pointed out. He was about to say more but he stopped and looked at Janaya, who hadn't said a word since they arrived. "Are you okay?" he asked again. Janaya just smiled and nodded before returning to staring into space and Dean shook his head. "I'll be right back," he said, entering the motel.

Sam frowned at Janaya, concerned, but before he could say anything, she'd joined Dean inside, arranging the room.

"What'd you say?" Dean asked the boy at the counter.

"Nice car," he said, a fake smile of sincerity on his face. A woman entered the motel after Janaya.

"Checking in?" she asked them. They nodded. "Do me a favour and go and get some dinner for your brother," she told the boy, presumably her son.

"I'm helping a guest," he protested but, with a look from his mother, he went to do as he was told.

"Will that be cash or credit?" she asked.

"Do you take Master Card?" Dean asked. The woman nodded and he put the credit card down on the counter. He looked past the woman and saw the boy helping his younger brother get a drink and stared at them, lost in thought.

"Dean," Janaya said, bringing him back to reality. The woman was holding his credit card out to him with a questioning look on her face.

"Thanks," Dean said, taking his card off her and shaking his head at himself.

OoOoOoO

Janaya and Dean were sharing a room while Sam had his own adjoining one. As Janaya set up her stuff and got herself comfortable, Dean came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Are you okay? You've been kind of out of it lately," he said, turning her around to face him.

She smiled and shook her head. "I could say the same thing to you, Dean," she pointed out. "I guess it's just one of those days... or weeks as the case may be."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine, now will you please stop worrying about me? We have stuff to do, things to kill, you know the drill." Dean looked at her for a moment then nodded and kissed her on the forehead. "Come on, let's see what Sam's got."

"You were right," Sam said from behind his computer as they entered his room. "It wasn't easy to find but you were right, a Shtriga is a kind of witch. They're Albanian but legends about them date back as far as Ancient Rome."

Janaya moved behind Sam so she could see his computer screen. "Gee, they look mean," she said.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, and they feed off something called Spiritus Vitae."

"Spira-what?" Dean asked.

"It's Latin," Janaya said. "It means 'Breath of Life' and it refers to your life force."

Dean thought for a moment. "Didn't the doctor say the kids' bodies were wearing out?" he asked.

"It's a thought," Sam agreed. "You know, she takes your vitality, your immunity goes to hell, pneumonia takes hold... anyway, they can feed on anyone but they usually feed on –"

"Children," Dean said.

"That would make sense," Janaya said. "Children are more innocent, less tainted by the world so their life force is stronger than adults."

Sam nodded. "And get this, 'Shtrigas are invulnerable to all weapons devised by God and man.'"

"No, that's not right," Dean said. "She's vulnerable when she feeds."

"What?" Sam and Janaya asked.

"If you catch her when she's eating, you can blast her with consecrated wrought iron uh, buckshots or rounds I think," Dean explained.

"How do you know that?" Sam asked.

"Dad told me, I remember," he said.

"Oh, anything else Dad might've mentioned?"

"No, that's it," Dean said. "What?" he asked, off a look from Sam.

"Nothing," Sam said. "So assuming we can catch it when it feeds, we still gotta find the thing first which ain't gonna be a cake walk, Shtrigas take on a human disguise when they're not hunting."

"What kind of human disguise?"

"Historically, something innocuous so it could be anything but it's usually a –"

"An old crone?" Janaya asked. Sam looked at her and nodded. Janaya sighed. "Of course it is," she said.

"Hang on," Dean said, picking up a map from the table. "Check this out. I marked down all the addresses of the victims. Now, these are the houses that have been hit so far and dead centre..."

"The hospital," Sam said.

Dean nodded. "When we were there I saw a patient, an old woman."

"An old person huh?" Sam asked. Dean nodded. "In the hospital? Wow, better call the coastguard."

Janaya stifled a giggle and Dean shot a look at her. "Listen smart ass, she had an inverted cross hanging on her wall."

Janaya rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? An inverted cross mean NOTHING at all. When will you two learn?"

Sam and Dean looked at her then shrugged. "It's worth checking out at least," Sam said. "It might just be a very stupid Shtriga."

Janaya shrugged. "Whatever, you guys go, I'll stay here and... look at stuff."

OoOoOoO

Sam and Dean snuck into the hospital and up to the old woman's room without being spotted. Before opening the door, Dean pulled out his gun and readied himself. The old woman was sitting in her wheel chair, facing away from them, her long white hair spilling over the back of the chair. She didn't react to either of them, despite the noise they were making. Sam pulled out a gun and pointed it at the back of her head as Dean moved out in front of her. Realising she wasn't moving, Dean leant down closer to her and jumped back suddenly when she turned towards him.

"Who the hell are you?" She yelled, clearly unable to see. "Who's there? You trying to steal my stuff?"

"No, uh, ma'am, we're maintenance," Sam said. "We thought you were sleeping."

"Ah nonsense," she spat. "I was sleeping with my peepers open. And fix that crucifix would ya? I've asked four damn times already." Dean turned to the inverted cross and tapped the top of it, it fell back into a crucifix position and Sam and Dean just looked at each other.

OoOoOoO

When Sam and Dean pulled back up at the motel, they found Janaya sitting out on a bench comforting Michael, the motel woman's son. The boys went over to them, looking concerned.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Dean asked.

"My brother's sick," Michael explained, his eyes red from crying.

"The little guy?"

Michael nodded. "Pneumonia," he said. "He's in the hospital... It's my fault."

"Hey," Janaya said firmly. "I've told you, it's not your fault... these things just happen." She looked meaningfully at Dean and Sam.

"I should have made sure the window was latched," Michael argued. "He wouldn't have gotten pneumonia if the window was latched."

Dean looked from Janaya to Sam then to Michael and swallowed. "Listen to me," he said. "I can promise you that this is not your fault."

"It's my job to look after him," he said firmly, looking hard at Dean who simply nodded.

The motel door opened and Michael's mother came out. "Michael," she said. "I want you to turn on the no vacancy sign while I'm gone. I've got Denise covering room service, so don't bother with any of the rooms."

"I'm coming with you," Michael told her.

"Not now."

"But I gotta see Asher!" he pleaded.

"Michael, hey, I know how you feel, I'm a big brother too, but you gotta go easy on your Mom right now," Dean suggested.

Sam, seeing Michael's mother's shaky hands, stepped forward and took her keys. "You're in no condition to drive, why don't you let me give you a lift to the hospital."

"No, I couldn't," she protested.

"I insist," he said and she nodded. Before Sam got in the car, Dean grabbed his arm and whispered to him:

"I wanna kill this thing, I want it dead, you hear me?"

Sam nodded and got into the car.

Dean followed Janaya into their motel room and frowned at the photos spread all over the floor.

"Where did all these come from?" He asked, picking one up and examining it. It was not one of the ones of Seth, it was of Janaya and a younger boy and girl.

"My Mom gave them to me," she said, snatching it away. "When I was with the pack and she came to tell me..."

_Wh__en you were with Ranec, you mean,_ Dean wanted to say but he caught the tears in her eyes and stopped himself. He moved over to her and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Is this why you've been so out of it lately?"

Janaya nodded. "That little girl's room reminded me so much of my sister... and... Michael's situation with his brother... I know exactly how he feels."

"How could what happened to your family possibly be your fault?"

Janaya shrugged. "I know it's not but I feel responsible... like, If I'd been there, I could have protected them. I could still kick ass with magic when they died. If I'd been home maybe I could have fought off the thing that killed them."

Dean wrapped Janaya in a hug and let her bury her face in his chest. "I promise you, I will help you kill the thing that did it, I know it won't bring them back but it'll make you feel better."

Janaya allowed herself a smile and looked up at him. "Come on, we have a witch to hunt."

OoOoOoO

Later on, Dean had swapped places with Sam at the hospital and Sam and Janaya had headed to the library to do some research.

"This thing has been all through Wisconsin since way before Fort Douglas, when Dad was there," Sam said after calling Dean to fill him in. "Every fifteen to twenty years it hits a new town." He paused and stared at the screen he was looking at. "Dean, this thing is just getting started in Fitchburg. In all these other places, it goes on for months, dozens of kids before the Shtriga finally moves on. Kids just languish in comas and then they die."

"How far back's this thing go?" Dean asked.

Sam repeated the question to Janaya who flicked through the microfiche until she found the earliest one and showed Sam the date. "Not sure exactly, but the earliest one we can find is this place called Black River Falls back in the 1890's. Talk about a horror show." He paused as Janaya flicked to the next slide, revealing a picture of doctors surrounding a child's bed.

"Whoa" they said together.

"Sam?" Dean asked, when they didn't elaborate.

"We're looking at a photograph right now of a bunch of doctors standing around a kids bed. One of the doctors is Heidecker."

"And?" Dean asked, glancing at Doctor Heidecker who was now examining Asher.

"And this picture was taken in 1893," Sam said.

"You're sure?" Dean asked

"Yeah absolutely."

Dean hung up and turned to face Heidecker then slowly left the paediatrics ward, trying to keep as calm as possible.

OoOoOoO

"We should have thought of this before," Sam said. "Doctors are trusted, they can control the whole thing."

"That son of a bitch," Dean said simply, throwing his jacket on the bed.

"I'm surprised you didn't draw on him right there," Janaya said, looking at him closely.

"Well, first of all, I'm not gonna open fire in a freaking paediatrics ward," Dean said. "Second, it wouldn't have done any good 'cause the bastards bullet proof unless he's chowing down on something. And third, I wasn't packing which is probably a really good thing 'cause I probably would've burned a clip in him on principle alone."

"Getting wise in your old age, Dean," Sam said.

"Damn right I am," Dean agreed. "'cause now I know how we're gonna get it."

"How?" Janaya asked, already not liking where this conversation was heading.

"The Shtriga, it works through siblings right?" Dean asked. Sam and Janaya nodded. "Well, last night..."

"It went after Asher," Sam said.

"So I'm thinking tonight it's probably gonna come after Michael."

"Then we gotta get him outta here," Sam said.

Dean frowned. "No, that'll blow the whole deal."

"What?"

"You want to use a child as _bait_?" Janaya asked, giving Dean an appalled look. "Are you nuts? No, that's out of the question!"

"It's not out of the question, it's the only way!" Dean argued. "If this thing disappears, it'll be years before we get another chance."

"Michael is a child!" Janaya said. "You can't dangle him in front of that thing like a worm on a hook!"

"Dad didn't send me here to walk away."

"Send you here?" Sam asked, stepping forward. "He didn't send you here, he sent _us _here."

"This isn't about you," Dean said, turning away from them both. "Alright, I'm the one that screwed up. It's my fault, there's no telling how many kids have gotten hurt because of me."

"What are you saying Dean? How is it your fault?" Sam asked. Dean didn't answer. "Dean, you've been hiding something from the get-go. Since when does Dad bail on a hunt. Since when does he let something get away?"

"Since I nearly got you killed," Dean said quietly, sitting down.

"What?" Sam and Janaya asked.

"It was the third night in this crappy room and I needed to get some air," Dean explained. "I checked on you before I left, I locked the door behind me and I went across the street to play some video games. I got back and there was something in your room... it was the Shtriga... I... I picked up the gun and I was gonna shoot but Dad came in. He yelled at me then shot at it but it got away... Dad just grabbed us and booked. Dad never spoke about it again but he, uh, he looked at me different, you know? Which was worse. Not that I blamed him. He gave me an order, I didn't listen and I almost got you killed."

"You were just a kid," Sam pointed out.

"Don't," Dean said, not looking at him. "Don't. Dad knew this was unfinished business for me, and he sent me here to finish it."

Janaya smiled sadly at him and stroked his face. "Dean, I understand, I really do but using Michael? It's just..."

"How about one of us hides under the cover, we'll be the bait," Sam suggested.

Dean shook his head. "It won't work," he said. "It's gotta get close enough to feed, it'll see us." There was a small silence as both Sam and Janaya raked their brains for another option. "Believe me, I don't like it," Dean admitted. "But it's gotta be the kid."

OoOoOoO

"You're crazy!" was Michael's response to Dean's request. "Go away or I'm calling the cops," he said, brandishing the phone at them.

"Hang on a second," Dean said. "Just listen to me. You have to believe me, Okay? This thing came through the window and it attacked your brother. I've seen it, I know what it looks like, 'cause it attacked my brother once too."

Asher slowly put the phone down. "This thing is it like... it's got this long, black robe?"

"You saw it last night, didn't you?" Janaya asked.

"I thought I was having a nightmare," he said.

Dean sighed. "I'd give anything not to tell you this, but sometimes nightmares are real."

Asher looked at him suspiciously. "So, why are you telling me this?"

"Because we need your help."

"_My_ help?"

"We can kill it," Dean said. "It's what we do. But we can't do it without you."

"What? No!"

"Michael, listen to me," Dean said. "This thing hurt Asher and it's gonna keep hurting kids unless we stop it, do you understand me?"

OoOoOoO

"Well, that went crappy," Dean said, pacing his room. "Now what?"

"What'd you expect?" Sam asked. "You can't ask an adult to do something much less a kid." Just as he said this, someone knocked on the door.

Janaya opened it and was slightly surprised to find Michael standing there. "Hey," she said, smiling kindly.

"If you kill it, will Asher get better?" He asked.

"Honestly?" Dean said. "We don't know."

Michael nodded slightly, then looked straight at Dean. "You said you were a big brother?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah."

"You take care of your little brother?" He asked. "You'd do anything for him?"

"Yeah I would," Dean said quietly.

"Me too," Michael said. "I'll help."

OoOoOoO

Dean was setting up a camera in Michael's room that would link back to Sam's computer. They would then be able to see the Shtriga attacking and know when to come in.

"This camera has night vision, so we should be able to see as clear as day," Dean said. "Are we good?"

"Hair to the right!" Sam called back and Dean adjusted the camera slightly.

"What do I do?" Michael asked.

"Just, stay under the covers," Dean told him.

"And if it shows up?"

"We'll be right in the next room," Dean said. "We're gonna come in with guns. So, as soon as we do, you roll off this bed and crawl under it."

Michael thought for a moment. "What if you shoot me?"

Dean laughed slightly. "We won't shoot you, we're good shots," Dean assured him. "We're not gonna fire until you're clear, Okay?" Michael nodded. "Have you heard a gunshot before?" Dean asked.

"Like in the movies?"

"It's gonna be a lot louder than in the movies," Dean said. "So, I want you to stay under the bed, cover your ears and do not come out until we say so, understand?" Michael just nodded again. "Michael, are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to, it's okay, I won't get mad."

"No, I'm okay," he said. "Just don't shoot me."

"We're not gonna let anything happen to you," Dean said. "I promise."

OoOoOoO

Back in Michael's living room, they were all crowded around Sam's computer, staring hard at the screen.

"What time is it?" Dean asked.

Sam checked his watch. "Three," he said.

"Are you sure these iron rounds are gonna work?" Janaya asked, glancing at the gun in Dean's lap.

"Consecrated iron rounds," he corrected. "And, yeah, it's what Dad use last time."

Janaya nodded and resumed looking at the screen.

"Hey, Dean, I'm sorry," Sam said suddenly.

Dean gave him a confused look. "For what?"

"You know," Sam said. "I've always given you a lot of crap for always following Dad's orders. But I know why you do it."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Oh, God, kill me now."

Sam laughed. Janaya leaned forward. "Uh, Guys, I hate to interrupt this touching little brotherly moment of yours but, um, look." She pointed to Michael's window and they all leaned closer. What looked like the shadow of an arm was trying to open Michael's window. They watched as a hooded figure entered Michael's room and slowly inches closer to him.

"Now," Sam said.

"Not yet," Dean argued, staring wide-eyed at the screen, gun in hand.

The Shtriga reached the foot of Michael's bed and the picture started breaking up. When it had cleared, he was at Michael's head and bending down. "Dean," Janaya urged and Dean and Sam jumped up and burst through the door, just as the Shtriga had opened its mouth to feed.

"Michael, get down!" Dean yelled and, as soon as Michael was under the bed, he and Sam opened fire on the Shtriga. It shook with the force of the bullets and fell to the ground. Sam and Dean stopped shooting. "Michael, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Michael said, his voice slightly shaky.

"Just sit tight," Dean told him as he and Sam edged around the bed towards the Shtriga. Dean moved to stand over it and pointed his gun at it, it looked dead and Dean lowered his gun. He turned to Sam and shrugged but he hadn't seen the Shtriga's chest rising and falling ever so slightly and when he turned away, the Shtriga jumped up and grabbed him around the throat, throwing him to the ground. Janaya, who at this point had been watching from the living room, ran into Michael's room. The Shtriga moved over to Sam and threw him to the ground, crouching over him. Janaya was gunless and knew that even being a werewolf was useless in this situation and could only watch. The Shtriga opened its mouth and began to feed on Sam.

"Hey," came Dean's voice from behind Michael's bed. The Shtriga turned to look at him and Dean sent a bullet straight through its head.

"You okay little brother?" Dean asked. Sam merely raised his thumbs in answer and rolled to his feet. Janaya slowly entered the room and gestured for Michael to stand behind her as Sam and Dean went over to the Shtriga again. Dean emptied the clip into the Shtriga and it seemed to deflate then turned to ash, now definitely dead. Michael and Janaya went over to the Shtriga to look at its remains and Dean put a hand on Michael's shoulder, smiling at him.

OoOoOoO

The next day, as they were packing their stuff into the car, Michael's mother pulled up the front.

"Hey, Joanna, how's Asher doing?" Dean asked as she walked over to them.

"Have you seen Michael?" she asked.

"Mom!" Michael cried, running over to her. "How's Ash?"

"You're brother's going to be fine," she said, beaming.

"Really?"

"Really," she told him. "No one can explain it... it's a miracle. They're gonna keep him over night for observation but after that he's coming home."

"That's great," Dean said.

"How are the other kids doing?" Janaya asked.

"Good, real good," Joanna said. "A bunch of them should be checking out in a few days. Doctor Travis says the wards going to be like a ghost town."

"Doctor Travis," Sam repeated. "What about Doctor Heidecker?"

"He wasn't in today," Joanna said. "Must've been sick or something."

"Yeah, must have," Dean said, looking at the ground.

Joanna turned to Michael. "So, did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

Michael glanced at Dean then back to his mother. "No, same ol' stuff," he told her.

"Okay, well, we can go and see Asher."

"Now?" he asked.

"Only if you want to." Michael grinned and ran to the car.

Joanna laughed. "I better get going before he hot wires the car and drives himself," she said and left. Dean closed the boot and they all went to get into the car.

"That's too bad," Sam said.

"They'll be fine," Dean said.

"That not what I meant," Sam told him. "I meant Michael. I mean, he'll always know there are things out there in the dark. He'll never be the same, you know." Dean just nodded. "Sometimes I wish I could have that kind of innocence," Sam said.

Dean looked at the ground. "If it means anything, sometimes I wish you could to."

Janaya looked between the two of them and sighed. "I miss Nora," she said sadly before getting into the car. Sam and Dean followed suit and soon they were speeding out of Fitchburg, Wisconsin.


	15. Provenance

**So, another one. Again, not as good writing as it could have been but oh well.**

OoOoOoO

It was one of those paintings that were just so creepy, they had to be bought. It was a family portrait of some kind and it was very grim. The father had his hand on a little girl's shoulder and was looking at her sternly as he was being painted and a cut throat razor lay open on a table next to the youngest boy.

"I can't believe we actually bought this thing," a woman said, giggling as her husband placed the portrait right above the fire place.

"There's a reason charity auctions have an open bar," her husband agreed.

"Don't you think... I dunno... it's kind of creepy?" the woman said, staring at the painting.

"It's okay," her husband said, sliding one of his arms around her waist and unzipping the back of her dress with the other. "I'll keep you safe."

'Maybe you're the one I ought to be scared of," she said, kissing him. "Let's go up stairs," she said after a long moment.

"Give me two minutes to lock up," he husband said and she kissed him again. "Make that one minute," he amended and his wife giggled again as she ran to the stairs. Unbeknownst to either of them, the picture of the father in the painting had moved slightly so that his gaze was following the woman up stairs and then again so he followed the man.

The woman climbed in to bed, wearing very little in the nightwear department, and placed a candle on the bedside table. "If you don't hurry up I'm gonna start without you!" she called to her husband who hurriedly finished locking the house and ran upstairs to join his wife. He didn't notice, however, on his way past the painting that the cut throat razor was now missing.

"Babe, get the lights," he said as he entered the room, the candlelight no longer there. "I can't see a thing." When no response came he shrugged and bent down to climb into bed with his wife. He put his hand on the mattress and immediately felt a warm, sticky liquid. "You spill something?" he asked, reaching towards the bed side lamp with his other hand. As light filled the room he saw that the liquid was dark red and thick. "Anne?" he asked softly, turning around to see his wife lying on the bed, her throat slit. "Anne!" He stumbled backwards in shock then turned to see her killer coming towards him. All he could do was scream.

OoOoOoO

The live band was good and Janaya sat back and enjoyed the music as Dean went to the bar to get drinks and Sam frowned at their father's journal and some newspapers. Janaya glanced over to Dean and watched cautiously as some girl wandered over to him.

"Hi, I'm Brandy," she said, smiling at him.

Dean grabbed the drinks from the barman and turned slowly to the girl. She was pretty, no doubt about that, but Dean didn't feel like flirting. He glanced at Janaya and saw her watching him closely. Normally, this would have completely curbed any idea of flirting with this girl but then he remember her and Ranec together and changed his mind. He put the drinks down and smiled back at the girl.

"Dean," he said, holding out his hand for her to shake. "Can I get you a drink?"

"I'd love one," she said and Dean offered her Janaya's drink. Brandy took it gratefully and began to skull it down.

Janaya stood up suddenly and Sam looked up from the journal. "What?"

Janaya shook her head. "Nothing," she said. "I'm just gonna walk back to the motel."

"But what about this?" he asked, pointing to the journal.

Janaya shrugged. "I need some sleep," she lied. "Can it wait till tomorrow?" Sam nodded reluctantly and Janaya left the bar. With Janaya now gone, Sam could see what Dean was doing and why she was in such a hurry to leave. Dean looked over at Sam and, realising Janaya was gone, excused himself from Brandy and went to sit next to Sam.

"Where's Jay gone?" he asked.

"She said something about sleep," Sam said. "Although I'm pretty sure she wasn't telling the whole truth," he added pointedly.

Dean looked guilty for a second then looked at the journal. "What you got?"

"Mark and Anne Telesca were found dead in their home, just a few days ago," Sam said. "Throats were slit, there were no prints, no murder weapons, all doors and windows were locked from the inside."

"Could just be a garden-variety murder, you know, not our department," Dean pointed out.

"Dad says different," Sam said, pushing the journal towards Dean. "Dad noted three murders in the same are of up state New York; first one 1912, the second one 1945 and the third in 1970. All the same MO as the Telescas: throats were slit; houses were locked from the inside. Now, so much time passed between the murders that no one tracked the pattern except for Dad."

"And now we got another one," Dean said.

"Exactly."

"Alright, I'm with you, it's worth checking out," Dean told him. "Can this wait till tomorrow?" Sam nodded. "Good," he said and got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Sam called after him.

"To apologise... again," Dean called back.

OoOoOoO

Dean found Janaya lying on their bed reading and she didn't bother to look up as he entered the room.

"I'm sorry," he said as he sat down beside her.

"For what?" she asked, still not looking up.

"For back at the bar," he explained, slightly surprised. "You know, with that girl."

Janaya looked up from her book and turned to face him. "Oh, you mean deliberately trying to make me angry? Congratulations, you succeeded." She stood up and went to put her book back in her bag.

"I wasn't trying to make you angry," he said defensively, standing up to follow her. "I was just... I dunno, I suddenly remembered you and Ranec and found myself flirting with her."

Janaya dropped her book suddenly and turned to face Dean angrily. "You just won't drop it will you?" she asked. "Just because I made a mistake, you get to do whatever you want?" Dean shrugged. "Well, let me tell you what _really_ happened between me and Ranec." Dean raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Absolutely nothing."

Dean stared at her for a second then reverted into a confused look. "What?"

"I lied," Janaya said simply. "Ranec and I never actually had sex. Nothing happened."

Dean sank back onto the bed. "Then why the hell did you tell me you did?" he asked. "That's usually the opposite of what people do."

"I needed to make you not want me any more," she told him pointedly.

"Why?"

"It's complicated," she said dismissing it. "Just drop the me and Ranec crap, will you? It's driving me insane." Dean just nodded and Janaya resumed returning her book to her bag. She undressed for bed, ignoring Dean's presence momentarily, and then slid into bed. She looked at Dean who was still sitting on the bed staring at her and kissed his cheek. "I know, it's a lot to come to terms with, me not having cheated on you like you thought but I'm sure with time you'll come to forgive me," she said before turning off the bedside light and snuggling down to sleep.

OoOoOoO

Dean and Janaya waited in the car while Sam ran into the Telesca house. Dean had, for some reason, fallen asleep and curled up in the front passenger seat. Janaya saw Sam come back and reach over to the steering wheel. She braced herself and laughed as Dean was jolted awake by the car horn.

"Man that is so not cool," he said as Sam climbed back into the car.

"I just swept the Telesca house with the EMF," Sam said. "It's clean. And last night I checked the history of the house: No hauntings, no violent crimes... nothing strange about the Telescas themselves either."

"Alright, well if it's not the people and it's not the house then maybe it's the contents, a cursed object or something."

"The house is clean," Sam said again.  
"Yeah I know, you said that."

"No, I mean its empty, no furniture, nothing," Sam explained.

"Where's all their stuff?" Janaya asked.

OoOoOoO

"Assignment auctions, state sales," Dean was saying as they wandered the hall of 'Daniel Black Auctions and Estates', where the Telescas' belongings were being auctioned. "Sounds like a garage sale for wasps if you ask me."

"Can I help you?" Someone asked from behind them and they turned to find an elderly man in an expensive looking suit. Janaya's eyes widened and she hid herself behind Dean before the man could see her face.

"I'd like some Champagne please," Dean said, looking the man up and down.

Sam glared at Dean. "He's not a waiter," he said then turned back to the man. "I'm Sam Connors," he said extending his hand for the man to take. He didn't. "This is my brother Dean. We're art dealers with Connors Limited."

"You're art dealers," the man said incredulously.

"That's right," Sam said, nodding.

"I'm Daniel Blake, this is my auction house. Now, gentlemen, this is a private showing and I don't remember seeing you on the guest list."

"My fault, sorry," Janaya said, finally stepping forward.

Daniel Blake's eyes widened slightly at her. "Miss LaMorte, what a surprise."

"It is isn't it?" She agreed. "I'm helping out at Connors Limited and we've been travelling around looking at stuff for a while. When we ended up on this side of the Hudson River I figured why not come by and say hi? So, here we are."

Daniel Blake stared at her in a kind of shock. "That's all very well but the fact remains that this is a private auction and -"

"Just a few more minutes Mr Blake," Janaya pleaded. "Connors Limited are very interested in some of the pieces you have here and I haven't seen Sarah yet." She smiled innocently and eventually Daniel Blake sighed and walked away.

"How do you know him?" Dean asked.

"He's a friend of the Cohens," Janaya explained, shrugging. "His daughter, Sarah, was really good to me after Seth died."

"Of course," Dean said, blinking. They resumed looking through the Telescas' belongings until they found an incredibly creepy looking painting.

"A fine example of American Primitive wouldn't you say?" A woman asked as she descended a spiral staircase to their right. Sam looked up at her then at the painting then back to her.

"Well I'd say, it's more Grant Wood than Grandma Moses," Sam retaliated. "But you knew that, you just wanted to see if I did."

"Guilty," she said. "And clumsy, I apologise. I'm Sarah Blake."

"Sam," Sam said, shaking her hand. "This is my brother Dean and I believe you know who this is," he added nodding to Janaya was leaning close to the painting.

Janaya looked up and smiled at Sarah. "Long time no see," she said, stepping forward and giving her a hug.

"I agree," Sarah said. "How've you been since...?"

"Fine, actually," Janaya said. "A few interesting adventures later I moved on." Janaya glanced at Dean who was in the process of stuffing his face with mini quiches and rolled her eyes. "Sometimes age has nothing to do with maturity though."

Sarah laughed and nodded. "So, I find it hard to believe you stopped by just to say hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes," Sam said. "What can you tell us about the Telesca estate?"

"The whole thing's pretty grizzly if you ask me, selling their things this soon? But Dad's right about one thing; sensationalism brings out the crowds. Even the rich ones."

Sam and Sarah smiled at each other for a moment, Dean and Janaya looking between them with very different looks on their faces. "Is it possible to see the provenances?" Sam finally asked.

"I'm afraid there isn't any chance of that," Daniel Blake said as he appeared behind Sarah.

"Why not?" Janaya asked.

"You're not on the guest list, and I think it's time for you to leave."

"Well, we don't have to be told twice," Dean said.

"Apparently you do," Blake countered.

"Okay, it's alright, we don't want any trouble, we'll go," Sam said.

Dean left immediately while Sam and Janaya lingered a little bit. "See you later," Janaya said so Sarah and followed Dean, Sam following after a last look at Sarah.

"Dad, that was rude," Sarah said when they had gone.

OoOoOoO

"Grant Wood, Grandma Moses... what?" Dean asked Sam as they checked in to their motel room.

"Art History course," Sam explained. "It's good for meeting girls."

"It's like I don't even know you," Dean said. They walked into the room and stared at the blatant disco-ness of it before shrugging and making themselves comfortable.

"And what was the 'provedance'?" Dean asked.

"Prove_nance_," Sam corrected. "It's a certificate of origin, like a biography. We can use them to track the history of the pieces, see if anything's got a freaky past."

"Well, we're not getting anything out of chuckles but, uh, Sarah..."

"Yeah?" Sam said. "Maybe you could get her to write it all down on a cocktail napkin."

"No, not me," Dean said grinning.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, pick ups are your thing," Sam said.  
"Hey," Janaya said sharply from one of the beds. "I know it's all in the interest of people's lives, but can you please not talk about my friend like she's an object?"

"Well, why don't you get her to tell you?" Sam asked.

Janaya shrugged. "A couple of reasons. One, I can't be bothered. Two, she likes you. And three, you like her."

Dean handed Sam his cellphone. "Sometimes you gotta take one for the team," he said.

OoOoOoO

With Sam out on a date with Sarah, Dean and Janaya were left to sit in the motel room alone. Janaya had actually decided to cook dinner for the two of them and they'd made an almost date out of it. When they were finished, Janaya stood up, cleaned her dished and started making preparations to go out.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked, leaning back in his chair.

Janaya hesitated. "Just out," she said.

Dean frowned at her. "Just out, huh? Why?"

Janaya looked at him and sighed. "If you really must know, I'm going to find a secluded spot and Change because it's been a while."

Dean looked at her for a long moment. "Should I come with you?"

Janaya dropped her shoe in surprise. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Janaya asked. "I mean, It's not going to be as fast as possible and it's not exactly a pleasant sight... plus actually seeing me in wolf form might freak you out a bit."

Dean thought for a moment. "If we're going to make a proper go of this then I think maybe I need to see it for myself."

Janaya resumed pulling on her shoe and look at Dean's face. He appeared serious and he did have a point. "Fine," she said. "But don't say I didn't warn you." She took Dean's hand and led him outside.

Once they'd found a place that looked uninhabited, with lots of trees, they stopped walking and Janaya began taking very deep, nervous breaths.

"Are you alright?" Dean asked.

Janaya nodded. "It's just, I've never changed in front of anyone other than the pack."

Dean smiled on kissed her forehead. "Whenever you're ready."

Janaya nodded and breathed deeply. She took a few steps back from Dean and closed her eyes. Slowly, she began undressing and folding her clothes neatly. "What are you doing?" Dean asked.

Janaya opened her eyes to see Dean staring at her. "What? It's not like you haven't seen it all before," she pointed out. "Besides, Changing with clothes on damages them beyond repair so it's just easier this way." She closed her eyes again and continued. When she was completely undressed she relaxed something in her brain and felt a tingling in her fingertips. "Dean, you may want to look away," she said. "Turn around and no matter what you hear, don't turn around."

Dean just nodded and did as he was told as Janaya let the wolf take over. Her bones changed shape and crunched loudly but Dean didn't turn around. Her skin split and gave way to fur as her spine curved and forced her onto all fours. Within a minute or so, the transformation was complete and in Janaya's place sat a large black wolf. She went over to Dean, her paws padding softly on the grass, and sat down next to him, rubbing her head against him. He glanced down and jumped before crouching down and scratched her behind the ears.

"This is beyond weird," he told her as she rolled onto her back, her tongue lolling happily. After an hour or so of running and scratching, Janaya stopped and wandered away slowly. Her bones shifted as she stood on her back legs and in less than half the time it took to change from human to wolf, she was Janaya again. She put her clothes back on and looked hesitantly at Dean.

"So..." she said awkwardly.

Dean just pulled her into a hug and she relaxed against him. "Didn't change a thing," he said reassuringly. "I'm a dog person."

Janaya laughed and hit him gently on the arm. He took her hand and they walked back to the motel.

OoOoOoO

Janaya lay on her bed lazily, observing the boys. Sam was back from his date with Sarah and looking through the provenances while Dean sharpened his knife at Janaya's feet.

"So she just handed the provedances over to you," Dean said.

"Prove_n_ances," Sam corrected. "And yes, we went back to her place, I got a copy of the papers..."

"And?" Dean asked.

"And nothing, I left," Sam said.

Dean looked at him. "You didn't have to con her, do any special favours?"

"Dean, would you get your mind out of the gutter please?"

Dean laughed. "Hey, you know, when this whole thing's done we could stick around a little bit."

"Why?"

"So you can take her out again," Dean said. "It's obvious you're into her."

"I am not," Sam said. "I have Nora, remember?"

Janaya laughed. "Well, technically, you don't. You're taking a break for this exact reason."

"You're telling me Nora knew I'd meet Sarah?" Sam asked.

Janaya shook her head. "No, I'm saying she knew you'd meet someone. And she knew she'd like Mika more than just a little bit. Besides, it's obvious you like Sarah. When you met her all you did was smile at her."

Sam shook his head and looked back at the provenances. "Hey, alright, I think I got something here." Dean put away his knife and Janaya got off the bed to see what Sam had found. Sam handed the provenances to Dean.

"Portrait of Isaiah Merchant's family, painted 1910," Dean read aloud.

"Now compare the names of the owners with Dad's journal," Sam said.

Janaya picked up the journal and glanced from the journal to the provenances several times. "First purchased in 1912 to Peter Simms," she said, reading from the provenances. She then pointed to the first date in the journal. "Peter Simms murdered 1912."

"Same thing happened in 1945 and same thing in 1970," Dean said.

"Then stored until it was donated to a charity auction last month," Sam said. "Where the Telescas bought it. So, what do you think, it's haunted or cursed?"

Dean thought for a moment. "Either way it's toast."

OoOoOoO

They broke into "Daniel Blake Auctions and Estates" later that night, Sam using a trick he's learnt from Nora to disarm the alarm. They move quickly and as silently as possible while looking for the painting before Dean spotted it upstairs. He was about to pull out his knife when he stopped.

"What?" Janaya whispered.

"I think I forgot to bring it," he said, patting down his jacket.

"We could take the whole thing," Sam suggested but Janaya was shaking her head and stepping forward. She held up her forefinger and they watched in surprised silence as the tip grew into a sharp talon. She cut the painting out of the frame and handed it to Dean. "You're welcome," she said before hurrying them outside.

With the painting lying on the ground outside, Dean struck several match. "Ugly ass thing," he said. "If you ask me, we're doing the art world a favour." And with that, he dropped the matches onto the painting. What they didn't realise was that the painting reformed itself in the frame as it burned.

OoOoOoO

The next morning as they prepared to leave, Dean was throwing things around the room frantically.

"We got a problem," he said. "I can't find my wallet."

"How is that our problem?" Janaya asked.

"Because I think I dropped it in the warehouse last night."

"You're kidding, right?" Sam asked angrily.

"It's got my prints, my ID... well, my fake ID anyway," Dean muttered as he pulled his jacket on. "Come on, we gotta find it before somebody else does."

They tried to look inconspicuous as they searched the pieces for Dean's wallet.

"How do you lose your wallet Dean," Sam asked but Dean merely shrugged.

"I'm going to kill you," Janaya said, nearly breaking the large vase she was looking in.

"Hi guys," Sarah said brightly.

"Hey," Sam said, trying to look like he wasn't looking.

"What are you doing here?"

"Uh, well, we were leaving town and we came to say goodbye," Sam said, earning himself a disappointed look from Sarah.

"What are you talking about, Sam, we're sticking around for at least another day or so," Dean said, stepping forward. "Oh, Sam, I'd better give you that twenty bucks I owe you," he said pulling his wallet out from his back pocket. "I always forget." He handed Sam a twenty dollar note and Sam snatched it out of his hand. "Well, we'll leave you two crazy kids alone," Dean said, grabbing Janaya's arm and leading her away. "We gotta go do... each other – ow!" he said as Janaya hit him on the arm.

"See ya," she said, with a wink to him and Sarah.

"So..." Sam said awkwardly.

"I had a good time last night," Sarah said.

"Yeah, I did too," Sam agreed.

Sarah smiled. "Maybe we should do it again sometime," she suggested hopefully.

"You know, I would love to, I really would but Dean... he was just screwing around we really are taking off today."

"Oh," Sarah said, her face falling.

Sam was about to say something but he saw the Merchant painting being carried off to the side and instead said: "Oh my god!"

"What?" Sarah asked, jumping slightly.

"Uh, that painting... looks so... good," Sam covered.

"If you could call that monstrosity good," Sarah said," then yeah, I guess."

"Sarah, what do you know about that painting?"

"Not much," she admitted. "Just that it creeps me out and we sold it to the Telescas at a charity auction the night they were murdered."

"Yeah, and now you're just going to sell it again?"

"As much as my dad wants to, no, I won't let him," Sarah said firmly. "I think it'd be in bad taste."

"Good, yeah, you know what? Don't. Don't, make sure you don't, okay?"

"Why? Don't tell me you're interesting in that."

"No, god no, not in buying it," he said. "You know what? I gotta go, I gotta take care of something. But, um, I will call you back. I will call you... I'll see you later."

"Wait, so you're not leaving tonight?" she asked, obviously confused.

"No, I guess not," Sam said, staring at the painting. "See ya."

OoOoOoO

Sam found Janaya and Dean just sitting in the car outside of the auction house and explained everything to them.

"I don't understand, we burned the damn thing," Sam said.

"Yeah, thank you Captain Obvious," Dean said. "Alright, we just need to figure out another way to get rid of it. Any ideas?"

"Well, um, in almost all the lore about haunted paintings, it's always the paintings subject that haunts them," Sam said.

"Yeah, so, we need to find out everything there is to know about that creepy ass family and that creepy as painting," Dean said. "What were there names again?"

OoOoOoO

A jolly looking librarian excitedly dumped a pile of books and papers on the table in front of them. "You said the Isaiah Merchant family, right?" he asked. Sam nodded. "I dug up every scrap of local history I could find." He looked between the three of them. "So, uh, are you guys crime buffs?"

"Sort of," Dean said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well..." the librarian said, holding up a very old newspaper from 1912. The main headline was the new titanic sinking but he pointed to a smaller article off to the side with the head line "Father slaughters family, kills self."

"Yes, that sounds about right," Dean said, reading the headline.

"The whole family was killed?" Sam asked.

The librarian nodded. "It seems this Isaiah, he slits his kids' throats, then his wife's then himself. Now, he was a barber by trade, used a straight razor."

"Why'd he do it?" Janaya asked.

"Well, let's look," he said, turning the paper around so he could read it. "People who knew him described Isaiah as having a stern and harsh temperament and controlled his family with an iron fist... uh wife, two sons, adopted daughter... yeah. There were whispers that the wife was going to take the kids and leave which, of course you know, in that day and age, so instead, old man Isaiah gave them all a shave."

"Does it say what happened to the bodies?" Dean asked.

"Just that they were all cremated."

The three of them sighed and looked at each other. "Anything else?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, actually, I found a picture of the family," he said, picking up a book and opening it to a bookmarked page. "Here it is."

It appeared to be a picture of the painting itself but there was something different about it. "Can we get a copy of this please?" Janaya asked.

"Sure," the librarian said, and hurried off to photocopy the page.

OoOoOoO

"The painting's changed," Janaya said, giving the photocopy to Dean and Sam. "I swear, in the painting at the auction house, Isaiah is looking down, here, he's looking out."

"Right, so you think daddy dearest is trapped in the painting and he's handing out Columbian neck ties like he did to his family?"

"It's possible," Janaya said, nodding.

"But if his bones are already dusted, how are we going to stop him?" Sam asked.

Dean stared at the picture and thought for a moment. "Well, if his positions changed, maybe something else in the painting has too. You know, something to give us a clue. We gotta get back in to see that painting. Which is a good thing because it give you more time to crush on your girlfriend."

"Dude, enough," Sam said, as Janaya laughed.

"What?"

"What? Ever since we got here you've been trying to pimp me out to Sarah. Just back off."

"Well, you like her don't you?" Dean asked. Sam responded with a shrug. "Alright, you like her, she likes you, you're both consenting adults."

"What's the point, Dean? We'll just leave, we always leave."

"I'm not talking about marriage, Sam."

"You know, I don't get it," Sam said angrily. "What do you care if I hook up?"

"Because maybe you won't be so cranky all the time."

Sam and Dean just looked at each other while Janaya stood awkwardly in the middle. "Okaay," she said suddenly. "Both of you shut up and listen. Dean, stay out of Sam's love life, it's none of your business. Having said that, Sam, Sarah is a fantastic girl, Nora thinks so too. You need to get out and have fun occasionally and I'm sure Sarah would be more than willing to accommodate you. Regardless, we still need to get in to see that painting, so you still need to call Sarah."

They stared at her in shock for a moment before shrugging. Sam picked up his phone and reluctantly called Sarah. "Sarah, hey, it's Sam," he said when she'd answered. "I'm good, what about you...? Good, good, so anyway, we were thinking that maybe we'd like to come in and look at the painting again. I think maybe we are interested in buying it... what?" he asked suddenly, standing up. "Who'd you sell it to...? Sarah, I need an address right now."

OoOoOoO

When they pulled up outside the house of the buyer, Sarah was already there. "Sam, what's happening?" she asked, running over to the Impala.

"I told you, you shouldn't have come," he said, getting out of the car and running to the door, Sarah, Dean and Janaya on his heels.

"Hello, anyone home?" Dean called as he banged on the door.

"You said Evelyn might be in danger," Sarah said. "What kind of danger?"

"I can't knock this sucker down, I gotta pick it," Dean said, bending down to the lock.

"What are you guys, burglars? Janaya, what is going on?" she pleaded.

Janaya had shoved Dean out of the way and was examining the lock. "It's kind of hard to explain," she admitted, turning the knob hard. There was a loud cracking from inside the lock and the door swung open. "But you need to trust us right now, okay?"

"You really should wait in the car, it's for your own good," Sam advised, following Dean and Janaya into the house.

"The hell I will, Evelyn is a friend," Sarah said defiantly, following them in. They found Evelyn sitting by the fireplace, the painting hanging above it. "Evelyn?" Sarah asked, but there was no response. "Evelyn, it's Sarah Blake, are you alright?" She reached out to touch Evelyn on the shoulder and before Sam could stop her, Evelyn's head fell backwards with a sickening ripping sound. Sarah screamed and stumbled backwards. She looked up at the painting suddenly and saw Isaiah Merchant turn towards her and screamed louder. Sam grabbed Sarah and they left the house as quickly as possible, dropping Sarah back home on the way.

OoOoOoO

The next morning, Sarah pounded on their motel room door.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sam asked.

"No, I'm not alright, I just lied to the police and told them I went to Evelyn's alone and found her like that," she said.

"Thank you," Sam said.

"Don't thank me, I'm about to call them right back if you don't tell me what the hell is going on. Who's killing these people?"

Sam looked at Janaya and Dean who nodded then sighed. "What."

"What?"

"It's not _who_ it's _what_ is killing these people," Sam told her. "Sarah, you saw that painting move."

"No, no, I was seeing things," Sarah said firmly. "It's impossible."

"Yeah, well, welcome to our world," Dean said tiredly.

"Sarah, I know this sounds crazy," Sam said. "But we think that that painting is haunted."

"You're joking," she said. She looked from Sam to Dean then to Janaya and saw their serious faces. "You're not joking. God, the guys I go out with."

"Tell me about it," Janaya muttered from the corner of the room, rolling her eyes.

"Sarah, think about it," Sam said. "Evelyn, the Telescas. They both had that painting. And there have been others before them. Wherever this thing goes, people die. And we're just trying to stop it. And that's the truth."

Sarah thought for a moment. "Well then I guess you better show me, I'm coming with you."

"What? No," Sam said. "Sarah, you should just go home. This stuff can get dangerous and… And I don't want you to get hurt."

"Look, you guys are probably crazy but if you're right about this... well, me and my dad sold that painting, we might have got those people killed. Look, I'm not saying I'm not scared, 'cause I am scared as hell. But I'm not gonna run and hide either." She went to the door and opened it. "So are we going or what?" and she left.

"Sam," Dean said staring after her. "Marry that girl."

OoOoOoO

"Uh, isn't this a crime scene?" Sarah asked as they tiptoed into Evelyn's house, again.

"Well, you've already lied to the police," Janaya pointed out. "What's another infraction?"

Sam pulled the painting down off the wall and examined it closely.

"Aren't you afraid it's gonna, you know, kill us?" Sarah asked nervously.

"Nah, it seems to do its thing at night," Sam said. "I think we're okay during the day light."

Dean was frowning down at the picture of the original painting then he looked up. "Sam, check this out. The razor, it's closed in this one but it's open in that one." Sam took the photocopy and examined it.

"What are you guys looking for?" Sarah asked.

"Well, if the spirit is changing aspects of the painting, maybe it's doing so for a reason," Dean said.

"Hey, hey, look at this," Sam said. "The painting in the painting." Janaya and Dean stepped forward to compare the pictures. In the photocopy it was a landscape painting of mountains but in the painting it was something else.

"It looks like a crypt or a mausoleum or something," Janaya said. Dean looked around then picked up an ashtray and held it to the smaller painting, magnifying the word on the crypt.

"Merchant," he read aloud.

OoOoOoO

They wandered through a cemetery with a very frustrated Dean.

"This is the third boneyard we've checked," he said. "Maybe this ghost is jerking us around."

"So this is what you guys do for a living?" Sarah asked Sam.

"Not exactly," Sam said. "We don't get paid."

"Over there," Dean said, pointing to an ominous looking crypt. They cut the chains that locked the doors and pushed spiderwebs out of their way as they entered the crypt.

"Okay, that right there is the creepiest thing I've ever seen," Sarah said pointing to a doll in a glass case.

"It was sort of the tradition at the time," Sam said. "When a child died they would preserve it's favourite toy and put it in a glass case next to the headstone in the crypt."

Dean looked around him. "Do you notice anything strange here?"

"Where do I start?" Sarah said.

"No, that's not what I mean," Dean said. "Look at the urns."

They did so. "There are only four," Janaya said.

"Yeah, Mom and the three kids," Dean said. "Daddy dearest isn't here."

"So where is he?" Sam asked.

OoOoOoO

It turned out the Isaiah Merchant had been buried in a pine box rather than cremated so that night they took a little trip to one of the local cemeteries and started digging him up.

"You guys seem to be uncomfortably comfortable with this," Sarah said as Sam climbed out of the grave.

"Well, this isn't exactly the first grave they've dug," Janaya sighed.

"Still think I'm a catch?" Sam asked.

"I think I got something," Dean said and began smashing his shovel through the coffin, revealing Isaiah Merchant's bones. Sam and Dean salted the bones and poured accelerant on them before striking several matches. "You've been a real pain in the ass, Isaiah," Dean said. "Good riddance." He dropped the matches and watched Isaiah burn.

OoOoOoO

They pulled up in front of Evelyn's house and Sam stepped out. "Keep the motor running," he said.

"I thought the painting was harmless now," Sarah said.

"Better safe than sorry," Sam pointed out. "We're gonna bury the sucker."

"I wanna come with you," she said, climbing out of the car.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." In the house, the found the painting and stopped. "Uh, Sam, you're the expert on all this ghost stuff, is the painting supposed to look like that? Where's the little girl?" Sam looked at the painting closely, the little girl was indeed missing. And so was the razor.

"And the razor," Sam said. A creepy giggling surrounded them and the front door slammed shut.

Dean and Janaya ran to the door and tried to break it down but couldn't. "Dean!" came a muffled cry from the other side of the door.

"Sammy!" Dean called back then suddenly his cellphone rang. "Tell me you slammed the door," he said when he'd answered it.

"No, it wasn't me, I think it was the little girl."

"Girl, what girl?"

"Yeah, she's out of the painting," Sam said. "I think it might've been her all along."

"Wasn't the dad looking down at her?" Dean asked. "Maybe he was trying to warn us."

"We can recap later, Dean, just get us out of here!"

"They fixed the door handle but I can't pick the lock," Dean said. "It won't budge."

"Then break it down!" Sam urged.

"Can't, Jay already tried, it won't budge."

"Dean, the damn thing is coming!"

"Well, you're gonna have to hold it off until we figure something out," Dean said. "Get some salt or iron." Sam fell silent for a long while and all that could be heard was chaos inside the house. "Sam, are you okay?"

"For now," Sam said finally.

"How're we gonna waste her?"

"I dunno, she was already cremated, there's nothing left to burn."

"Well how's she still around?"

"There must be something else." He was silent for a minute then, "Dean, Sarah says the doll might have the girls hair. Human remains, same as bone."

"The mausoleum," Dean said and he and Janaya jumped back into the car.

Shortly after, they pulled up right outside the mausoleum and ran inside. Dean hit the glass of the case the doll was inside with the butt of his gun in an attempt to break it. When it failed he turned to Janaya and gestured for her to try. She just looked at him for a moment then he smacked himself on the forehead, turned the gun around and fired. Janaya reached through the broken glass, ignoring the blood now running down her arm, and pulled the doll out and handed it to Dean. He pulled out his lighter and flicked it frantically but it didn't start. He tried again and again until finally a flame appeared and he set the doll's hair alight.

Back at Evelyn's house, the little girl dropped the razor and burst into flames, disappearing then reappearing in the picture.

Dean pulled out his cellphone and called Sam. "Sam, you good?" he asked when Sam had answered the phone.

"Not bad," Sam answered then hung up.

OoOoOoO

At the auction house, they all oversaw the painting being put into a large wooden crate.

"This was archived in the county records," Dean said, pulling out a piece of paper. "The Merchants' adopted daughter Millie. Know why she was up for adoption? 'Cause her real family was murdered in their beds."

"She killed them?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, who'd suspect her, a sweet little girl?" Dean said. "So then she kills Isaiah and his family, Isaiah takes the blame and the spirit's being trying to warn people ever since."

"Where's this one go?" one of the men putting the painting away asked.

"Take it out back and burn it," Sarah said. They hesitated. "I'm serious guys, thanks." They shrugged and did as they were told. "So, why'd the girl do it?"

"Killing others, killing herself, some people are just born tortured," Sam explained. "So when they die, their spirits are just as dark."

"Yeah, maybe," Dean said. "I don't really care. It's over, we move on."

Sarah sighed. "I guess this means you're leaving."

Dean looked between Sam and sighed. "I'll go wait in the car, Jay?"

"Just a sec," she said. She gave Sarah a hug. 'Hopefully, it won't be so long till I see you again," she said.

Sarah nodded. "Just one question," she said. "How'd you get involved in all this?"

Janaya looked at her for a moment. "Do you really want to know?" she asked. Sarah nodded. "Seth turned into an angry spirit and tried to kill me. Sam and Dean saved me... well, that's the short version anyway."

Sarah looked at her in surprise. "Right," she said. "See you round."

"See ya," Janaya said, taking Dean's hand and following him out to the car.

Janaya leaned her head on Dean's shoulder as they waited for Sam to come out of the auction house. When he did, they moved to get into the car but Sam stopped, turned around and knocked on the door. When Sarah opened it he bent down and kissed her.

Dean and Janaya smiled at it and Janaya jumped when her cellphone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, Jay, I'm back!" Nora said excitedly from the other end of the phone.

"Really? Where are you?"

"Belleville," Nora said. "I figured I'd stay with the Cohens until you could come and get me."

"Well, we're in New York right now, so we can actually be there in a few hours," Janaya said.

"Great!" Nora said. "I'll see you later!" and she hung up.

"Dean, Nora's back," Janaya informed him.

Dean looked from Janaya to Sam who was still kissing Sarah. "Awkward," he said. "Sam!" Sam stopped and looked up at Dean. "We gotta go pick someone up!" Dean told him. Sam looked confused then his eyes widened and he nodded. He kissed Sarah one more time.

"Gotta go," he said and ran back to the car. They got in and sped away from the auction house in the general direction of New Jersey.

OoOoOoO

**THREE LEFT!! Who's excited? Can you tell I'm excited?**


	16. Dead Man's Blood

He sat at the bar, muttering to himself as he made notes in his journal, oblivious to the music and people around him.

"Mr Elkins?" The bar maid asked. He didn't respond. "Mr Elkins, would you like another?"

The man, Mr Elkins, looked at her for a moment then nodded. "Yeah, thanks Beth," he said then returned to his notes. Beth smiled at him and went to get his drink. One of the other customers raised his eyebrows at her.

"Poor Mr Elkins lives all alone up the canyon," Beth explained. "Same seat everyday, going through his papers, making his little notes. He a nice old man, he's just a nut." She turned back to Mr Elkins and poured his drink. "Here you go," she said. He didn't seem to notice. He looked up as a group of people entered the bar led by a woman in a leather jacket.

"What'll you have?" Beth asked the woman.

"Jack all around, leave the bottle," she said.

"You hungry?"

"We have dinner plans."

"Okay," Beth said, still smiling. She turned to get the bottle of Jack Daniels from the shelf. "Can I get you anything else Mr Elkins?" She asked. When he didn't answer, she turned around and found him gone, his drink untouched and the back door to the bar hanging open.

Mr Elkins sped home in his truck, hurrying to unlock the door and constantly looking behind him. He locked the door behind him and put his journal down. He started rifling through some of the papers but stopped when he heard a noise behind him. He turned to see the leather clad woman from the bar standing behind him, grinning maliciously at him.

"It's been a while," she said. "I've gotta say, you look old."

"What do you want?" Mr Elkins asked.

"What do you think?" the woman countered. Mr Elkins suddenly threw a knife at her and it hit her right in the stomach.

"Damn," she said, pulling the knife out as Mr Elkins ran into another room. "You can do better than that."

Mr Elkins locked the door behind him and pushed the book case in front of the door, revealing a safe. "Come on, come on," he muttered as he turned the knob to the combination. Inside, there was a box containing a gun and five bullets, all of which he hurriedly put into the gun. All the while, the woman was banging on the door. Just as he had finished putting the gun together, two men dropped from the ceiling and leapt at him, holding him against the wall and forcing him to drop the gun. The woman finally pushed through the door and bookcase and calmly stepped through the doorway. She picked up the gun and examined it closely.

"Nice gun," she said. "Wouldn't do you much good of course. Boys," she said, turning her attention to the men holding Mr Elkins. "We're eating in tonight."

The men lowered their heads and sank their teeth into Mr Elkins as he screamed.

OoOoOoO

Sitting in a small diner, Dean scanned the newspaper forlornly, finding nothing interesting. He put the paper down and looked at Sam who was reading intently from his laptop.

"Alright, dude, not a decent lead in all of Nebraska," he said. "What've you got?"

"Well, I've been scanning Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota... here, a woman in Iowa fell ten thousand feet from an aeroplane and survived."

"Sound's more like 'That's Incredible' than 'Twilight zone'," Janaya said, returning with a plate of food and sitting next to Dean. Nora, also with a plate of food, sat next to Sam and proceeded to steal his fries. They had decided not to get back together when she got back but she'd decided his fries were still fair game.

"Hey, you know, we could keep heading east. New York, up state," Dean said, grinning. "We could stop by and see Sarah again.

"Ooh, yeah, let's do that," Nora said. "That way I'll get to see her too."

"I dunno, maybe someday," Sam said dismissively. "But in the mean time, we've got a lot of work to do."

Dean sighed. "Yeah... what else you got?"

"Uh, Manning, Colorado. Local man by the name of Daniel Elkins was found mauled in his home."

Dean frowned. "Elkins," he repeated. "I know that name."

"Doesn't ring a bell," Sam said. "Sounds like the police don't know what to think. At first they thought it was some kind of bear attack. And now, they found sings of robbery." Dean pulled out his father's journal as Sam spoke and started flicking through it.

"D. Elkins," Janaya read aloud when Dean finally stopped turning pages and seeing a name next to a phone number. "Could be the same one."

"What makes you think that?" Nora asked.

"Colorado area code," Dean said.

OoOoOoO

"How can you not smell that?" Janaya asked, holding her arm across her nose to block out the putrid smell as they entered Daniel Elkins' home.

"Smell what?" Dean asked, neither he nor the others seemed to notice anything strange smelling.

"It's like, rotting flesh or something," Janaya explained, coughing slightly. "Jeez, guys I knew my sense of smell was enhanced but this is ridiculous."

Dean shrugged and continued through the door, his torch scanning the house briefly as he moved through to the next room. Janaya and Nora followed the boys into the house, Janaya somewhat reluctantly.

"Looks like the maid didn't come today," Dean said from a trashed room further into the house, he noticed a familiar looking book on the desk and began to flick through it.

"Hey, there's salt over here," Sam called from the door way. "Right inside the door."

"Protection against evil salt?" Dean asked. "Or 'oops I spilled the popcorn salt'?"

"It's clearly a ring," Sam confirmed.

"You think this Elkins guy was a hunter?" Nora asked, her eyes sweeping the room absently.

"Definitely," Dean said, still staring at the book he'd found. Sam and Nora went further into the house so see what he'd found and Janaya, her curiosity getting the better of her, braved the stench to see it also. It was a journal similar to Johns.

"That looks a hell of a lot like Dad's," Sam said, staring at the book.

"Yeah, except this dates back to the sixties," Dean pointed out.

"Oh Jesus Christ the smell is stronger over here," Janaya said, reluctantly moving over to another doorway. The others followed her and moved ahead of her as she hesitated. The room was even more trashed than the previous ones and the window in the ceiling was smashed through.

"Whatever attacked him, it looks like there was more than one," Sam said.

"Looks like he put up a hell of a fight too," Dean said. Janaya moved into the room, lowering her arm and almost relaxing.

"No more complaining?" Nora asked.

"The scent of rotting flesh is being nullified somewhat by... something else," she said, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"By what?" Nora pressed.

Janaya sighed. "Human blood," she said. "I wouldn't say I'm happy about it but... human scent is a lot nicer than whatever it is that killed him."

Dean threw her a questioning glance. "You realise how creepy that is, don't you?" Janaya just nodded so Dean shrugged and continued his search. Something on the ground caught Dean's eye and he bent down to see it.

"You got something?" Sam asked.

"I dunno, some scratches in the floor," Dean said, touching the scratched lightly. He looked around then took a pencil and some paper off a desk. He placed the paper down on the floor on top of the scratches and started scribbling. "Or maybe a message," he said when he'd done. He handed the piece of paper to Sam. "Look familiar?"

"Three letters, six digits," Sam said, squinting at the paper. "The location and combination of a post office box. It's a mail drop."

"Just the way Dad does it."

OoOoOoO

After locating and opening the post office box, they sat in the car, staring at the envelope in Dean's hand. On the front were the initials 'J.W.'

"Do you think... John Winchester?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "I dunno... should we open it?" As soon as he had said this, someone knocked on the window of his door. He jumped and looked up to see John standing outside the car. "Dad?" John moved to get into the back of the car and Janaya moved into the middle seat to make room.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Sam asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," John assured him. "Look, I read the news about Daniel and I got here as fast as I could. I saw you lot up at his place."

"Why didn't you come in?"

"You know why," John said. "Because I had to make sure you weren't followed. By anyone, or anything... Nice job of covering your tracks by the way."

"Yeah well, we learned from the best," Dean said.

Sam looked confused. "So you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?" he asked.

John nodded. "Yeah, he was... he was a good man. He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting."

"You never mentioned him to us," Sam said.

"We had kind of a falling out," John explained. "I hadn't seen him in years." He glanced at the envelope Dean was holding. "I should look at that." Dean nodded and handed him the envelope, all four of them watching John's face as he read the letter. "'_If you're reading this, I'm already dead..._'" John read a loud. "That son of a bitch."

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"He had it the whole time," John continued.

"Dad, what?" Sam pressed.

"When you searched the place did you see a gun?" John asked. "An antique, a colt revolver, did you see it?"

Janaya had gone very still as Dean answered. "There was a case but it was empty."

"They have it," John said.

"You mean whatever killed Elkins?" Dean asked.

"We gotta pick up the trail," John said, getting out of the car and allowing Janaya to move back into her seat.

"Wait," Sam said. "You want us to come with you?"

"If Elkins was telling the truth, we gotta find this gun," John said.

"The gun? Why?"

"Because it's important, that's why," John said sharply.

"Dad, we don't even know what these things are," Sam pointed out.

"They were what Daniel Elkins hunted best... vampires."

Janaya gasped. "That explains the smell!" she said. Sam and Dean turned to look at her, confusion on their faces. She didn't elaborate.

"But, I thought there was no such thing as vampires?" Dean said.

"You never even mentioned them, Dad," Sam said.

"I thought they were extinct," John explained. "I thought Elkins and others had wiped them out... I was wrong. Listen, most vampire lore you hear is crap, a cross won't repel them, sunlight won't kill them, and neither will a stake to the heart. But the blood-lust? That parts true, they need fresh human blood to survive. They were once people so for the average human, you won't know it's a vampire until it's too late."

OoOoOoO

John sat awake, listening to the police radio, as his sons and the girls slept. He watched them all very carefully, keeping particular close watch over Janaya, not entirely trusting her. She slept with Dean's arm around her and John did not like them being so close. Something came through on the police radio and he jumped to his feet.

"Sam," he said, hitting his son's foot. "Dean, wake up." He nudged the boys awake and they, in turn, nudged the girls awake, all four of them groaning in protest, desperately clinging to sleep.

"I picked up a police call," John said, pulling on his jacket.

"What happened?" Sam asked, as they pulled themselves out of bed.

"A couple called 911, found a body in the street," John explained. "When the cops got their, everyone was missing. It's the vampires."

"How do you know?" Sam asked.

"Just follow me, okay?" John said, and left the motel room.

Dean pulled on his jacket as the others left the room and laughed to himself. "Vampires," he muttered. "Gets funnier every time I hear it."

OoOoOoO

Sam, Dean, Janaya and Nora, leant against the Impala as they waited for John to finish talking to the police.

"I don't see why we couldn't have gone over with him," Sam said, frowning at John who was on his way back.

"Don't tell me it's already starting," Dean moaned.

"What's starting?"

Dean ignored him and turned to his father. "What've you got?"

"It was them alright," John said. "Looks like they're heading west. We're gonna have to double back to get around that detour."

"Are you sure?" Janaya asked.

John just nodded.

"How?" Sam asked.

"Sam-" Dean said.

"I just wanna know we're going in the right direction."

"We are," John assured him.

"How do you know?"

John looked at him for a moment before pulling something small and white out of his pocket. "I found this."

Dean took it and examined it. "It's a... vampire fang," Dean said, surprised.

"Not fang, tooth," Janaya corrected. "They have another set of teeth, kind of like sharks, the second set descends when they attack."

"That's right," John said, then turning to Sam. "Any more questions?" Sam said nothing. "Alright, let's get out of here, we're losing daylight. And Dean, why don't you touch up your car, I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if I thought you were going to ruin it."

Dean looked from his father to his car, a hurt look on his face, then, off the look on Sam's face, rolled his eyes and got in the car.

OoOoOoO

"Vampires nest in groups of eight to ten," Nora read aloud. "Smaller packs are sent to look for food. Victims are taken to the nest where the pack keeps them alive bleeding them for days or weeks."

"I wish people would stop referring to groups of vampires as packs," Janaya said. "It's a little bit insulting."

Dean frowned at her then nodded. "Right, werewolf," he said. "What should they be called?"

Janaya shrugged. "I dunno, something else... in the pack we called them a coven."

"Anyway, I wonder if that's what happened to that 911 couple," Dean said. "Being taken for food."

"That's probably what dad thinks," Sam said, glaring at the truck in front of him. "'Course it would be nice if he just told us what he thinks."

Dean turned to look at him. "So it is starting."

"What?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Sam, we've been looking for dad all year, now we're not with him for more than a couple of hours and there's static already?"

"Pssh, no," Sam said. "Look, I'm happy he's okay, and I'm happy we're all working together again."

"Good."

"It's just the way he treats us like we're children," Sam continued.

"Oh god."

"He barks orders, he expects us to follow him without question. He keeps us on some crap, need-to-know deal."

"He does what he does for a reason," Dean said defensively.

"What reason?"

"Hey, I'd hate to interrupt," Nora said, leaning forward. "But it's a little bit awkward witnessing your family arguments. So, if you could wait until we were somewhere else that would be terrific."

The boys glanced back at them. "Sorry," they mumbled and continued on in silence.

OoOoOoO

Not long after night had fallen, Dean's cell phone rang.

"Dad?" he asked. There was muffled speaking on the other line. "Alright, got it." He hung up and turned to Sam. "Pull off the next exit," he said.

"Why?"

"Because Dad thinks we got the vampires trail."

"How?"

"I dunno, he didn't say." Sam glared at the truck in front of him and shifted the Impala into the next gear, increasing the speed until he had passed the truck then skidded to a halt in front of it. He angrily stepped out of the car, slamming the door behind him.

"Oh crap," Dean said, getting out of the car. "Stay here," he told the girls before closing his door.

Janaya rolled her eyes. "More Winchester family drama," she muttered to Nora who laughed.

"Yeah, I kinda miss family drama though," Nora said. "At least they were there."

Janaya put her arm around Nora's shoulders and gave her a kind of seated side hug. "I know what you mean," she said. "But we can't dwell on things like that. Try to remember they're somewhere safer. You're all down with God, I'm sure he's looking after them for you." The yelling outside the car escalated but the girls shut out the words.

"You're right," Nora said, putting a smile back on her face. "They're much safer where they are now."

"Of course I'm right," Janaya said, laughing. "I'm always right."

Sam and Dean got back in the car, Sam looking severely pissed off and Dean looking angrily sad. Janaya reached forward and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly as Sam restarted the car and followed John once again.

OoOoOoO

They crouched behind some trees on the edge of the vampire's property and watched as a car pulled up in the driveway. It was early morning and the sun was shining kindly on their faces. A man stepped out of the car and the door to the barn opened to allow him inside. Someone stepped out, shielding his eyes from the sun and giving the driver a stern look.

"I know what time it is," the driver said, pushing past, who appeared to be, the leader who then closed the door behind them.

"Son of a bitch," Dean whispered. "So they're really not afraid of the sun."

"Direct sunlight hurts like a nasty sunburn," John explained. "The only way to kill 'em is by beheading."

"Actually that's not technically true," Janaya said, watching the barn closely. "If I rip a big enough hole in them, my werewolf DNA will screw with their vampire DNA and they won't be able to heal... although technically it works both ways..."

John stared at her for a moment then nodded. "Alright then," he said. "Then all you need to know now is that just because they sleep during the day, doesn't mean they won't wake up."

"I guess walking right in isn't the best idea then," Nora said.

"Actually," John corrected, "that's the plan."

Sam and Dean opened up the secret compartment in the trunk of the Impala and pulled out a few deadly looking blades.

"Hey, Dad, I've got an extra machete if you need it," Dean said turning to his father only to find that John not only had his own machete but a far more stylish looking hidden weapons compartment."

"I think I'll be okay," John said, unsheathing his machete so show a much sharper version of theirs.

"Why don't you give the spare machete to Nora?" Janaya suggested, pulling a long coat out of the car and draping it over the roof of the Impala.

"You girls aren't coming, are you?" John asked, turning from his truck.

"Uh, yes we are," Nora said, taking the machete off Dean. "How else are we supposed to keep you boys out of trouble?" She thought for a moment then; "at the risk of getting my head bitten off, what's so damn special about this colt?"

John sighed and looked from her to the boys. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, sir," Sam said after only a moments hesitation.

"It's only a story," John cautioned. "A legend really, well, I thought it was. I never really believed it until I read Daniel's letter. Back in 1835, when Halley's comet was over head, the same night those men died at the Alamo, they say Samuel Colt made a gun. A special gun. He made it for a hunter, a man like us only on horse back. The story goes, he used thirteen bullets. This hunter, used the gun a half a dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him. 'Till somehow Daniel got his hands on it. They say... they say this gun can kill anything."

"There's a lot of 'They Say' in that story," Nora pointed out.

"It's still true," Janaya said. "The pack have it all written down, well, all of it until the hunter disappears that it is. And they know to steer clear of it."

"So, by kill anything you mean, supernatural anything?" Dean asked.

Something seemed to dawn on Sam. "Like the demon," he said.

"Yeah, the demon," John said. Ever since I picked up its trail, I've been looking for a way to kill that thing. Find the gun, we may have it."

OoOoOoO

They used a window to sneak into the barn, with the girls going in first and John bringing up the rear. John immediately took off towards a separate room, leaving the others to deal with the vampires.

"How're you holding up?" Dean whispered to Janaya, who gave him a confused look. "With the smell, I mean."

"Oh, I've adapted to it now, I'll be fine, it's just like any other scent now, just a really gross one," Janaya whispered back and followed him through the maze of sleeping vampires. They found a girl tied to a post in the middle of the room and, a little way behind her, was a large cage which housed a good number of living humans. Dean headed for the cage while Sam moved cautiously to deal with the girl. Nora and Janaya stood back and prepared themselves in case any of the vampires woke up. Sam bent down to untie the girl in the middle of the room and Janaya's head snapped towards them.

"Sam, no!" she hissed as she realised too late that the woman was not innocent. Sam froze but the woman had already woken up and was looking around, confused. Then she screamed, an inhuman scream that woke every single other vampire in the nest. The sound of breaking glass came from somewhere in the back followed quickly by John's voice.

"Run!" he ordered and everyone did so, sprinting past the vampires and bursting into the sunlight. Janaya slowed when she was almost clear and looked around. She heard only two others breathing behind her and saw only Sam and Dean.

"Where the hell is Nora?" she asked and the boys, looking around, shook their heads worriedly. "Fuck." Janaya turned and sprinted back to the bar, discarding clothing as she ran. She just made it through the doors before she was on all fours and growling. She caught sight of Nora, separated from her weapon, though a few dead vamps littered the ground at her feet. The other's were closing in, however, and Nora had no way of defending herself. Janaya let out a loud, angry bark and the vampires turned their attention to her, their eyes widening in surprise. Janaya raised her haunches and growled menacingly, baring her teeth and inching towards the vampires. Nora shuffles slowly out of their reach and managed to push past them while they were thoroughly distracted. She picked up her machete and sprinted past Janaya and out into the sunlight. Janaya growled some more for good measure before following Nora out of the barn. She loped over to the Impala and dragged the coat off the top of the Impala, dragging it somewhere where the trees were slightly more dense. Nora leaned against the Impala, trying to catch her breath.

"I don't like things you can't shoot," she said. "They get to close."

A few moments later, Janaya returned in human form, pulling the coat tight around her. "Did you get it?" she asked John who had just appeared out of the trees.

John shook his head. "But tonight we'll have company, once a vampire gets your scent, it's forever so they'll hunt us."

"So what the hell do we do now?" Dean asked.

"You gotta find the nearest funeral home, that's what," John said.

OoOoOoO

With Dean out breaking into a funeral home and Sam and John having a heart-to-heart in the main room, it was left to Janaya and Nora to fix dinner.

"You know, you never got 'round to telling me about Mika," Janaya said as she stirred a pot of pasta sauce.

A grin spread across Nora's face and her cheeks grew pink. "He's fantastic," she said slowly before allowing herself to ramble about him, the blue of his eyes, his hair, the way he talks... it went on for a long while with Janaya smiling at her the whole time.

"So, I take it the reason you and Sam are no longer _you and Sam_ is because of Mika?" Janaya asked when Nora had finally quietened herself.

Nora hesitated then nodded. "He was just so... intense... he was hard to ignore, you know? Like, he really loves me."

"You spent less than a month together and you managed to figure that out?" Janaya asked, an amused smiled on her face.

Nora frowned at her. "You and Dean were together less then a week before you decided you were made for each other."

"Yeah, well, we are made for each other," Janaya said matter-of-factly. "My point is... he lives half way across the world, how are you going to maintain that kind of relationship?"

Nora shrugged and scooped pasta into bowls, Janaya pouring the sauce over top. "We'll figure something out," she said. "I mean, it's no different to following the boys all over the states, we just need to figure out who makes the sacrifice."

Janaya nodded and picked up a couple of plates to take to Sam and John and heard the door to the motel room open and close. "Sounds like your other half is back from his illegal escapades," Nora said, elbowing Janaya gently. Janaya pulled a face and nodded to the other plates.

"Bring those will you?" She asked and headed into the main room.

"Man, that's some heavy security to protect a bunch of dead guys," Dean said, pulling a brown paper package out of his pocket and dumped it on the table before taking one of the plates of food out of Janaya's hands. John reached into the paper bag and pulled out a jar full of a thick red liquid.

"What is that?" Nora asked, her fork halfway to her mouth.

Janaya looked at her a moment then sighed. "Dead man's blood," she said. "It's... hard to explain."

Nora looked from the jar on the table to the food on her plate and made a face. "I don't think I'm hungry any more," she said, and walked back into the kitchen to empty her plate.

John laughed and shook his head then turned to the boys. "You know what to do."

OoOoOoO

Dean squinted at the Impala's engine, barely able to see it in the dark. He reached out to touch something then brought his hand back quickly, a burning blister already forming on his finger.

"Car trouble?" someone asked from behind him. He turned around to see one of the vampire women looking at him, a playful grin on her face. She looked him up and down and her smile widened. "Let me give you a lift," she said. "I'll take you back to my place."

Dean pretended to think for a moment then sighed. "I'll pass," he said. "I usually draw the line at necrophilia."

"Oooh," the woman said then back handed Dean across the face, knocking him to the ground. Another vampire, a large male one, stepped out from his hiding place and glared menacingly at Dean. She bent down and picked Dean up by his jaw, holding him above her head.

"I don't normally get this friendly till the second date..." Dean joked, testing out movement in his jaw.

"You know, we could have some fun," she said. "I always like to make new friends." She brought Dean down to her level and kissed him.

"Huh," Dean said, when she finally pulled away. "Well, my girlfriend isn't really that big a fan of vamps." He glanced behind her as two crossbow bolts flew out of the trees, one flying straight through the male vampire's chest, the other through the female's chest, causing her to drop Dean in surprise.

She looked down at the arrow protruding from her chest and at the hole it had caused in her top. "Damn it," she muttered. She turned around to watch the others, bearing crossbows, run out of the trees. "Barely even stings," she mocked then glanced at Janaya. "Bitch," she said, by way of greeting.

"Leech," Janaya said in the same tone. "And that arrow's soaked in dead man's blood."

"That's like poison to you isn't it?" John asked. The female vampire frowned for a moment then her eyes glazed over and she collapsed. Dean caught her and hoisted her into his arms.

"Load her up," John ordered. "I'll take care of this one." Dean carried the vampire towards his father's truck, followed by the girls. At a nod from John, Sam followed too while John swung his machete downwards, lopping the head off the other vampire, blood spattering the rock behind him.

OoOoOoO

Sam and Dean had prepared a fire in a clearing of the woods and the girls were hovering near it.

"Put this on the fire," John said, pulling a bag out of his truck. "Saffron, skunks cabbage and trillion. It'll block our scent and hers."

"This stuff stinks," Dean said before tossing it on the fire. Janaya started coughing and stepped well away from the fire.

"Stinks is and understatement," she said. "That shit, _burns_."

John looked slightly apologetic. "Right, heightened sense of smell," he said, reminding himself that she wasn't human. "Just, don't breath through your nose for a while." Janaya threw him a dirty look but did as she was told, taking small, slow breaths through her mouth. "Dust your clothes with the ashes," he said, directing this at everyone. "You'll stand a chance of not being detected."

"Are you sure they'll come after her?" Sam asked.

John nodded. "Vampires mate for life."

"Awwh, that's so awesome," Nora said as she patted herself down with the ashes. "Do werewolves?"

Janaya was quiet for a moment. "Kind of... it's hard to explain."

"_Anyway_," John said loudly, drawing their attention back to the task at hand. "She means more the leader than the colt, but the blood sickness is going to wear off soon. So you don't have a lot of time."

"Half an hour oughtta do it," Sam said, sheathing his machete.

"And then I want you out of the area as fast as you can."

"Woah, Dad, you can't take them all yourself," Dean said.

"I'll have her," John assured him, nodding to the unconscious vampire. "And the colt."

"But after, we're gonna meet up right," Sam said. "Use the gun _together, _right?" John didn't answer. "You're leaving again."

"No fucking way," Janaya said angrily. "No, you are not killing that demon by yourself."

"Look, I appreciate your concern - "

"Concern?" Janaya asked. "Who said anything about concern? You're not killing the demon by yourself because every single one of us has a right to be there."

"Look - "

"Don't make excuses," she spat. "Do you want me to make a list? I can do it in order and everything."

"Jay..." Nora and Dean cautioned but she ignored them.

"First, your wife, Sam and Dean's _mother_," she said, raising her thumb. She raised two fingers. "Then, Nora's parents." Another finger. "Jessica." she raised three more fingers, using two hands. "My father, brother and sister. God knows how many other people it may have killed and you want to go after it yourself? I don't think so."

He stared at her for a long time then turned to the others. "Look, I'm just trying to keep you all safe. You boys are my only family and girls... well, you're just kids."

"Uh, with all due respect, Dad, that's a load of crap," Dean said.

"Excuse me?" John asked sternly.

"You know what we've been hunting, hell, you've sent us on a few hunting trips yourself," Dean pointed out. "You can't be that worried about keeping us safe."

"It's not the same thing, Dean."

"Then what is it? Why do you want us out of the big fight?"

"This demon, is a bad son of a bitch," John said. "I can't make the same moves, if I'm worried about keeping you alive."

"You mean you can't be as reckless," Dean argued.

"Look," John said firmly. "I don't expect to make it out of this. You're mother's death... it almost killed me... I can't watch you die too... I won't."

"What happens if you die?" Janaya asked. John said nothing.

"Dad," Dean said. "What happens if you die and we could have done something about it? I think Sam and Jay are right on this one, we should do this together. We're stronger as a family, Dad, we just are and you know it."

Janaya and Nora looked at each other as they realised they'd been included in the term 'family'.

John looked at each of them then his expression hardened. "We're running out of time," he said. "You do your job and you get out of the area. That's an order." And with that he headed towards his truck.

They glared after him and then Janaya stepped forward. "Good thing I never learnt to follow orders."

OoOoOoO

John glanced at the unconscious vampire next to him, checking to make sure she was still unconscious and safely tied. A light blared at him from his rear view mirror and he looked up to see a couple of cars following him closely.

Sam, Dean and Nora moved as quietly as they could through the vampire's nest. It was somewhat less occupied now that half of them had left with the leader and so easier to move around in. Nora accidentally kicked out with her foot, knocking something off a crate and kicking stones away. One of the vampires looked up from his bottle of whiskey and frowned. He got up to investigate the source of the sound but by the time he reached it they'd all moved. He looked at it for a long time before seeming to decide he'd been hearing things. He turned back to his seat and found Dean standing in front of him.

"Boo," Dean said before swinging his machete through the vampire's neck.

With Sam and Nora taking care of the other vampires, Dean went back to the cage of humans and began wrenching the hinges off the door.

The light in John's rear view mirror disappeared suddenly and he looked up to see that the cars behind him had disappeared. He rounded a corner and jumped when he saw the two cars and four angry looking vampires blocking his way and braked suddenly.

"Get out," the leader said and John obediently stepped out of the truck. "Who are you?"

"The name's Winchester," John told him.

"And where're your friends?"

"Cleaning out your nest."

The leader just looked at him for a moment, smiling slightly then his eyes turned cold. "Where's Kate?"

"C'mere sweetheart," John said, tugging at a long rope and dragging the vampire out of the truck, he kept a large knife to her throat as a warning.

"Kate, you alright?" the leader asked.

The vampire, Kate, struggle for breath. "Dead man's blood," she explained.

"You son of a bitch."

"I want the colt, Elkins' gun," John said. "A trade."

"Is that what this is all about?" the leader asked, looking as if he was trying not to laugh. "I mean, you can't shoot us all. We'll kill you."

"Oh, I don't need it for you, I'm saving it for something else." John pushed the blade against Kate's throat. "Put the gun down, or she goes first."

"Okay," he said, stepping forward. "Just don't hurt her." he placed the gun on the road in front of him and looked at John expectantly.

"Back up," John ordered and the vampire did so. "Further." When the vampire was far enough away from John's liking, he stepped cautiously forward, and bent down to pick up the colt. When he had it safely in his hands, he stood up, feeling strangely happy.

"That's a nice move," the vampire said, glancing down at Kate's hands. "You almost made it." Kate swung up with both her arms and knocked herself free of John's grasp. John dropped the colt in surprise and the vampire leader stepped forward and tossed John into the door of his truck, shattering the window and showering him with glass. Angry barks came from the woods to their left and within moments a large black wolf leapt out of the trees and bowled one of the vampires over. Barely seconds later, crossbow bolts came flying from behind the wolf and Sam, Dean and Nora appeared sprinting through the trees and firing as they went. They dived into the chaos, swinging and firing aimlessly. The leader knocked Sam over then picked him up and wrapped his arm around his throat. Dean dived for one of the machetes that had fallen to the ground.

"Don't move or I'll break his neck," the leader said and everybody froze. "Put the blade down." Dean hesitated and the vampire tightened his grip on Sam's neck. Reluctantly, Dean dropped the machete to the ground and backed away. "You people," the leader spat. "Why can't you just leave us alone? We have as much right to live as you do."

"I don't think so," John said from behind him. The vampire turned around to face him only to have a bullet from the colt go right through his head, splattering Sam's face with blood. Blood trickled from the wound and he dropped Sam who was immediately helped to his feet by Dean.

"Luther!" Kate screamed as the vampire, Luther, dropped to his knees. Janaya, still in wolf form, lay her head on the ground and covered her eyes with her paws. Something flashed brightly and Luther's body fell lifelessly to the ground. Kate attempted to dive at John but the one remaining vampire held her back and dragged her into one of the cars and sped away before Kate could get herself killed.

OoOoOoO

Sam, Dean, Janaya and Nora were busy repacking their bags when John walked in to their motel room.

"You ignored a direct order back there," he said.

"Yeah, and we saved your ass," Janaya pointed out, not bothering to look at him.

"You're right," John said and Janaya turned around in surprise.

"I am?" she asked. "I mean, of course I am."

"Look, you two," he said, gesturing to Sam and Dean. "You're all I've got. Girls, I don't mean that the wrong way, you're nice and all but until tonight I didn't even trust you."

Janaya nodded then stopped. "Wait, you trust us?" John just looked at her. "Sorry, continue."

"You did however, save my life," he said. "I'm guessing you followed me the whole way and the others caught up when they were done?" Janaya nodded. John smiled. "I guess we are stronger as a family."

"What's your point, Dad?" Dean asked.

"We go after this damn thing... together," John said. "All five of us."

Janaya and Nora could barely conceal their grins as they looked from John to each other then back again. "Yes sir."


End file.
